What is OCT in frozen section?
Tissue-Tek® O.C.T. Compound is used to quickly embed fresh tissue specimens for frozen sections using a cryostat. O.C.T stands for optimal cutting temperature. The high viscosity of Tissue-Tek O.C.T Compound results in fast freezing for optimal section quality.
What does Oct compound stand for?
Optimal cutting temperature compound
Optimal cutting temperature compound (OCT compound) is used to embed tissue samples prior to frozen sectioning on a microtome-cryostat. This process is undertaken so as to mount slices (sections) of a sample onto slides for analysis.
How does snap freezing work?
When water is cooled to its freezing point, ice crystals begin to form and grow in the water. When ice is added to supercooled water, it acts to catalyze the crystallization of the liquid. The water instantly freezes solid. This is sometimes called “snap freezing.”
How do you store Cryosections?
Regarding the storage of the sections, I would prefer to arrange the slides in a storage box and keep the storage box in a plastic bag. If you are storing your sections for longer duration, It would be a good idea to leave two open tubes of frozen MilliQ water in the bag to avoid the water loss from sections.
Why does flash freeze tissue?
Freezing tissues for histology: Tissues should be frozen as rapidly as possible to avoid ice crystals and to promote the formation of amorphous (vitreous) ice.
How can I freeze my lungs in October?
Mix 1:1 8% Paraformaldehye with OCT and use that to inflate, then place the lung in 4% Paraformaldehyde at 4C overnight, cryoprotect in 30% sucrose at least 24 hours at 4C and freeze in OCT. Both methods reduce autofluorescence and provide good morphology.
How do you fix frozen tissue?
One of the commonly used fixation methods for frozen tissue sections is to immerse the slides in pre-cooled acetone (-20°C) for 10 min. Pour off the fixative and allow acetone to evaporate from the tissue sections for < 20 min at room temperature.
What temperature does water snap freeze?
32°F
At what temperature does water freeze? That’s easy: 0°C (32°F). Did you know that water can sometimes be cooled below the freezing point and still remain liquid? This is called supercooling.
Can you remove Oct from a cryo stage?
It can be easily removed with water and/or alcohol at room temperatures. Although developed and optimized for cryo ultra-microtomes, it is also an excellent mounting medium for SEM cryo stages and cold stages. The OCT compound is a non-conductive material by nature, but conductivity can be introduced by mixing it with carbon powder.
How do you freeze fresh tissue for cryosection?
1. Freeze a fresh, unfixed tissue sample, up to 2.0 cm in diameter, in OCT in a suitable tissue mold. Freeze the OCT containing the tissue onto the specialized metal grids that fit onto the cryostat. OCT is viscous at room temperature and miscible with H 2O, but freezes into a solid support at −20°C.
What are the features of the Sakura OCT compound?
The OCT compound is a non-conductive material by nature, but conductivity can be introduced by mixing it with carbon powder. Features of the Sakura OCT 4583 embedding compound are:
How are slides and coverslips prepared for cryosection?
Slides can be poly-L-lysine-coated or silanized (see Step 3 and Preparation of Slides and Coverslips for Microscopy [ Fischer et al. 2008b ]) 1. Freeze a fresh, unfixed tissue sample, up to 2.0 cm in diameter, in OCT in a suitable tissue mold. Freeze the OCT containing the tissue onto the specialized metal grids that fit onto the cryostat.