In article <1995Jan5.213354.20749 at ucl.ac.uk> patrick at anatomy.ucl.ac.uk (Patrick Martin) writes:
>From: patrick at anatomy.ucl.ac.uk (Patrick Martin)
>Subject: Non stick brain slices
>Date: Thu, 5 Jan 1995 21:33:54 GMT
>Does anyone have a nice recipe for a solution that could be used to stick
>brain
>slices to slides? I am currently using gelatin coated slides but when I
>dehydrate
>the sliced brains prior to staining they float off the slides with
>disconcerting
>regularity.
>The brains are from perfused rats, soaked in 30 % sucrose formalin to force
>out
>water, blocked, bonded to a post with tissue tek, and cut coronally at -10
>degrees
>on a cryostat.
>Thanks in advance.
>Patrick
Dissolve 1 g gelatin in 100 ml warm water.
Dissolve 0.1 g chrome alum in 1 ml cold water.
^^^^
Mix the solutions. The mixture keeps for a few days.
Smear a biggish drop (0.05-0.1 ml) onto each slide. Let the slides
air-dry. They keep for years, in the cardboard boxes the slides
originally came in.
Collect your cryostat sections onto the coated slides,
thaw & dry. Chrome-gelatin also works well for paraffin
and freezing microtome sections.
Another method is to use gelatin alone, then expose the
slide (with mounted section) to formalin solution or vapour
for several hours (e.g. overnight). I've had less
experience with this method but it seemed OK the few times
I tried it. Cr cross-links carboxyl groups in the gelatin
and in the section. Formalin cross-links mainly aminos
and peptide bonds.
John A. Kiernan
Department of Anatomy
Univ. of Western Ontario
LONDON, Canada N6A 5C1
(519) 679-2111 e.6822
