Hi Margaret, I would do whatever I could to avoid cutting paper. Sounds like a nightmare that could be avoided. The suggestion of Histogel has merit, but the fact that it is often difficult to cut is a limiting factor as well as the cost to use it compared to a much cheaper alternative. This would probably require some experimentation to find out what would work best, but you had mentioned using pig intestine as a casing. Pig intestine might be considered a contaminent as you probably don't want the same intestinal surface in all the samples. There are alternatives of course. Other non intestinal casings can be used. There are collagenous casings as well as synthetic casings that would be a much better alternative and at $10- $12 it is a more cost effective option. You may even find these at your local butcher. (Check Kosher products) As to which type will cut best, that is where the experimentation will come in. A quick check came up with quite a few alternatives, check: http://www.sausagemaker.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWCATS&Category=118
This sounds like a facinating project, Amos Message: 23 Date: Thu, 23 Apr 2009 11:53:28 -0500 From: "Perry, Margaret" <[email protected]> Subject: [Histonet] ground meat samples To: "[email protected]" <[email protected]> Message-ID: <[email protected]> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" We will be doing IHC on ground pork and would like tips on how to process and embed the samples. Can you leave the processed sample in a paper biopsy bag and embed both the meat and the paper? Will cutting the paper make the blade dull to quickly? Is there anything else we can use to hold the tissue together? We had thought to maybe use pig intestine and pack the meat into it to make it cut better. Thank you in advance for your help. Histonet has helped me out many times and I greatly appreciate it. Margaret Perry HT (ASCP) IHC Lab Manager Veterinary Science Animal Disease Research and Diagnostic Lab South Dakota State University Box 2175 North Campus Drive Brookings SD 57007 _______________________________________________ Histonet mailing list [email protected] http://lists.utsouthwestern.edu/mailman/listinfo/histonet
