HistoClub

Occasionally, during cryotomy, the block may fall off the holder. It is not difficult to rectify the situation, as all you need to do is take another holder and fix the block on it with a small amount of medium.

✔️Avoiding the problem is also easy. Its most common cause is hypothermia of the holder. We advise not leaving holders on the cooling plate of the cryostat.

Such familiar and pleasant colors to all of us. 😍

What are the special characteristics of an ideal paraffin media for histology? We found three:

✔️High purity level: double filtered media.
✔️Being DMSO free: provides safety for the operator.
✔️Fast infiltration: easy tissue pe*******on.

➡️All these aforementioned qualities are provided by innovative high-class paraffin media for histology HISTOMIX® produced by BioVitrum (Russia). Moreover, BioVitrum paraffin media is compatible with all solvents and staining protocols used in laboratories. Blend of paraffin wax and plastic polymers provides excellent elasticity for quality diagnostics in histology.

❓What other qualities should an ideal paraffin have? Write in the comments!

Sectioning speed is a rather individual question, because each laboratory technician has their own methods of working with a microtome.☝️And yet there are general rules that are better to be guided by, especially at the beginning of your work inside the lab.

✳️Sectioning too fast will result in thick slices. The initial slices from the series will be thicker, since the block installed on the microtome is still relatively cool, and as a consequence is slightly compressed. Therefore, if we conduct the cutting process quickly, there will be more such slices. And this is wasteful consumption of diagnostic material.

✳️Additionally, slow slices do not form ribbons. These slices are more difficult to work with, need to be carried separately and are easier to lose.

❓Do you have any tips for microtomy?

Histology Love from Jovana Vidojević 😍

Paraffin media with different melting points: what are the differences? 🤓

➡️The assortment of many manufacturers includes paraffin media with different melting points. BioVitrum, for example, has paraffin that melts at 52° and also at 58°. The product range includes the following products:

✳️HISTOMIX®: 52-54°С
✳️HISTOMIX® EXTRA: 54-56°С
✳️Mr. Wax EXTRA: 56-58°С

➡️The main difference between these products is the different recipes and melting points. For laboratories in southern latitudes, it is better to use paraffins with a high melting point; for northern laboratories, vice versa.

However, there are other nuances in relation to the choice of paraffin media:

✔️Paraffin media HISTOMIX® 52-54°C is recommended for processing, especially for tissue samples that will be used for IHC because a low melting temperature helps to maintain a protein structure.
✔️Medium melting temperature paraffins (HISTOMIX® EXTRA and Mr. Wax EXTRA) can be used both for the processing and embedding stages.
✔️Paraffin media with a high melting point (eg. Mr. Wax EXTRA) have higher viscosity and provide solid paraffin blocks. These media are used for the embedding stages only. They're perfect for hard tissue samples or in case the ambient temperature in the laboratory is high.

➡️All types are based on pure high quality paraffin and special additives that provide different melting temperatures.

Do you have any questions about BioVitrum paraffins? Write to the email address: [email protected] or visit website: http://en.biovitrum.ru/products/histology/paraffin/

When it comes to starting to use a new reagent in the lab, what is the correct way to do it? 🤓

➡️The main rule is as follows: before you start actively using a new reagent in your work, you need to test it directly in your laboratory. Of course, in production, the reagent has passed quality control, it has an instruction where all important indicators are described, BUT you need to understand how this or that substance works directly in your conditions. Because, yes, each laboratory is unique. :)

➡️Validate not on diagnostic material, but on test material! Act according to the scheme (we will demonstrate this using formalin as an example):

✳️During the grossing from the organ, additionally take several pieces which have no diagnostic value, and then you will conduct a check test on them.
✳️Fix diagnostically significant pieces into “old” formalin, while those pieces additionally grossed - into the “new”.
✳️At all other stages of the histoprocess, work with “old” and “new” pieces in the same way, according to the protocols established in the laboratory. The idea is that in order to test something, you only have to change one stage.
✳️At the output, check the difference in the result.

If the quality of the slide has not suffered with the introduction of a new reagent, you can safely introduce it into your work.

Let's compete: who has the oldest microtome? How old is your microtome? Write in the comments!

Which packaging of dyes is more convenient - large bottles or small tubes with a dropper spout? 🧐

✅ The choice of packaging depends on how many slides you plan to stain. For large flows, it is more convenient to resort to the immersion method. The reagent is poured into a vessel, into which a basket with glasses is immersed. There can be more than one or two dozen such baskets per day.

➡️ In case you do not have so many slides for staining with one reagent, a small package with a dropper spout is perhaps more convenient. The dropper bottle allows staining directly into the glass. It can be reused for 50, 100, 200 or more tests - it depends on the specific manufacturer.

➡️ If you have a large number of slides (most often it concerns staining according to Van Gieson, Perls, Schick reaction), it is better to use submerged staining methods. With the immersion technique, staining can be done manually (you can independently rearrange the baskets with glasses from solution to solution) or using an automatic stainer. Dipping bottles are available in 500 and 1000 ml volumes.

➡️ More information about the dyes produced by "BioVitrum" (Russia) - on the website: http://en.biovitrum.ru/products/

These are the winter beauties! What do you sculpt from the remains of paraffin? 😋

Dear colleagues!

The long-awaited holidays have finally arrived. It is the most magical and fabulous holiday of the year.🎁

On behalf of the HistoClub team we would like to wish you and your loved ones health, happiness and prosperity. 👍Dream - it always moves you forward! May your strengths and capabilities become a “magic wand” for the realization of your most cherished desires in the new year!

Sincerely yours,
HistoClub