> Tristan,
>         If you section something, embedded or not, you will kill it. You
> can freeze the tissue and section it, if your goal is to retain the ability
> to stain with immunocytochemical probes. Why not try confocal fluorescence
> or digital image sectioning.
> good luck!
>
> Steve Limbach
>

Hi all,

I would make a difference between 'killing' and 'damaging'. By
sectioning a tissue, of course you damage the tissue and 'kill' a lot of
cells, while other cells (deaper within the slice) show proper cell
functions for hours when kept in a appropiate saline and temperature.
You have to be carefull when interpreting your results, because they may
be influenced by the damage you caused. Nevertheless, those preparations
are widely accepted (e.g. brain slices).

To give a suggestion to Tristans original question. You may try to embed
your tissue in 5% agarose in physiolgcal saline and make vibratome cuts
in the same saline immediatly after embedding. Keep the tissue in your
saline during the whole process and use water immersion lenses for
examination (oil immersion lenses won't match the refractive index of
your tissue and mounting medium).

Sincerely
Christian


--
Christian Lohr, Ph.D.
ARL Division of Neurobiology
University of Arizona
PO Box 210077
Tucson, AZ 85721-0077
Phone: (520) 621-6671
FAX: (520) 621-8282
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