Dear Tony, Thank you for the fine reply on Michel's Transport Media. We had excellent results with human renal biopsies destined for immunofluorescence staining. I don't recall ever exceeding 48 hours in Michels as 72 hours was allowed per recommendation from the original and Elias's publications. The kidney morphology didn't suffer excessively from this transport media as seen on our H&E stained frozen sections from Liquid Nitrogen cooled isopentane snap frozen needle biopsies. My renal pathologist always commented that the frozen section H&E looked very much like his the FFPE H&E section. This must vary from laboratory to laboratory and also what tissue was transported e.g. skin biopsies versus kidney biopsies. We always were very careful with good Michels buffer rinses.
As for where to access Michels Transport Media and Michels buffer, we purchased these from Poly Scientific in much larger volumes at a cheaper price than Wampole(?)(Zeus). Aliquots were made and distributed to laboratories although that may not be ideal since busy laboratories may find this a bit labor intensive. I know of laboratories who make up Michels with great success. As for transporting tissue on saline soaked gauze, I can't stress the importance enough to NEVER let the tissue dry out, and snap freeze it as soon as it arrives in the laboratory. I would prefer receiving a tissue in cell culture fluid to ensure no drying. The reference is much appreciated. G'day and missed seeing you at NSH symposium/convention this year. Gayle M. Callis HTL/HT/MT(ASCP) -----Original Message----- From: histonet-boun...@lists.utsouthwestern.edu [mailto:histonet-boun...@lists.utsouthwestern.edu] On Behalf Of Tony Henwood Sent: Tuesday, October 05, 2010 5:44 PM To: Della Speranza, Vinnie; kristen arvidson; histonet Subject: RE: [Histonet] DIF Transport Media Vinnie, I hope you are well. The following might be of use: Specimens for immunofluorescence are usually submitted to the laboratory in cell culture fluid (eg Hanks or RPMI) or on saline soaked gauze. For transport to other institutions, Michel's Transport Medium has often been used: Michel's Buffer 1M potassium citrate, pH 7.0 2.5 ml 0.1M magnesium sulphate 5.0 ml 0.1M N ethylmalemide 5.0 ml Distilled H2O 87.5 ml * Mix well and store at 2 8oC. Exp. 1 year Michel's Transport Medium Michel's Buffer 100ml Ammonium sulphate 55gm Adjust pH to 7.0 7.4 with 1M KOH. Store at 2 8oC. Exp. 1 year Unfortunately Michel's Transport Medium has erroneously been called Michel's Fixative. None of the components of Michel's Transport Medium is a fixative. Ammonium sulphate precipitates antigen-antibody complexes in diseased skin and renal tissues. N ethylmalemide modifies free sulphydryl groups of cysteine residues in proteins (Fischer 2006). Michel's Transport Medium has been shown to be deleterious to morphology. Ultrastructurally, complete destruction of plasma membranes and intracytoplasmic organelles occurs after 48 hours storage. On the other hand, antigenicity is well preserved even after many days storage (Fischer 2006). Fischer (2006) Intern J Surg Pathol 14(1):108. Regards Tony Henwood JP, MSc, BAppSc, GradDipSysAnalys, CT(ASC) Laboratory Manager & Senior Scientist Tel: 612 9845 3306 Fax: 612 9845 3318 the children's hospital at westmead Cnr Hawkesbury Road and Hainsworth Street, Westmead Locked Bag 4001, Westmead NSW 2145, AUSTRALIA -----Original Message----- From: histonet-boun...@lists.utsouthwestern.edu [mailto:histonet-boun...@lists.utsouthwestern.edu] On Behalf Of Della Speranza, Vinnie Sent: Wednesday, 6 October 2010 6:10 AM To: 'kristen arvidson'; histonet Subject: RE: [Histonet] DIF Transport Media Zeus was a company that used to market michel's under their own label. I don't believe zeus still exists. Michel's is the name associated with the author of the original paper. I don't have the reference. This solution does not require refrigeration. Vinnie Della Speranza Manager for Anatomic Pathology Services Medical University of South Carolina 165 Ashley Avenue Suite 309 Charleston, South Carolina 29425 Tel: (843) 792-6353 Fax: (843) 792-8974 -----Original Message----- From: histonet-boun...@lists.utsouthwestern.edu [mailto:histonet-boun...@lists.utsouthwestern.edu] On Behalf Of kristen arvidson Sent: Monday, October 04, 2010 2:30 PM To: histonet Subject: [Histonet] DIF Transport Media Is Michel Medium the same as Zeus? Do these need to be refrigerated? 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