Contributions to Semithin Sextioning on A Conventional Rotary Microtome

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
Procedures for obtaining sections 1 .mu.m thick on a conventional rotary microtome are described. Hydrophilic resin blocks with adequate hardness and elasticity for semithin sectioning are made by addition of divinylbenzene and methylmethacrylate to a commercial embedding kit. The blocks are pinched between 2 simple adapters and mounted in the specimen holder of a microtome. A glass knife of the Ralph type with an effective blade length of 25 mm is made from a glass slide and attached to a metal bar with paraffin. The low cost assembly is set in the steel knife holder of a conventional rotary microtome. Sections .mu.m in thickness can be cut from the resin embedded blocks. Staining with the usual staining solutions may be weak due to the thinness of the sections, but the fine resolution and low distortion achieved are compensating gains.