Protocol

Preparing Frozen Tissue Sections for Immunostaining

This protocol was adapted from "Staining Tissues," Chapter 6, in Using Antibodies by Ed Harlow and David Lane. Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press, Cold Spring Harbor, NY, USA, 1999.

The first 100 words of the full text of this article appear below.

INTRODUCTION

Frozen tissue sections show good preservation of tissue structure and antigens. The principle disadvantages of using them in immunostaining are that the specimens must be stored frozen, and a special microtome, known as a cryostat, is required. Also, many clinical specimens are not available in this form, and most classic histological descriptions of tissue structure and pathology are based on the use of paraffin-embedded sections of formalin-fixed material (see Preparing Paraffin Tissue Sections for Immunostaining).

MATERIALS

Reagents

Acetone (Optional, see Step 5)

Dry ice

Freezing agent, such as Isopentane or OCT (available commercially; see Step 2)

1% Gelatin with 0.02% Sodium . . . [Full Text of this Article]

Equipment

METHOD

TROUBLESHOOTING