Merissa,
Water 77-80 solvent
Formic acid 21-23 active ingredient
Fluorad >1 surfactant - a wetting agent
to make the solution wet the bone more easily
Sodium citrate >1 emulsifier , buffer
Polyvinyl pyrrolidone >1 emulsifier
They say less than one percent of the last three, but you really have no idea
whether that is 1%, .1% or .01%. It could be any of those.
But all those surfactants and emulsifiers are meant to keep the solution viable
for long periods on the shelf. When you make it fresh you don't really need
them.
You can either buy a different decalcifier, or make your own. Making your own
with just the water and acid will work just fine.
Tim Morken
Pathology Site Manager, Parnassus
Supervisor, Electron Microscopy/Neuromuscular Special Studies
Department of Pathology
UC San Francisco Medical Center
-----Original Message-----
From: M.O. via Histonet [mailto:histonet@lists.utsouthwestern.edu]
Sent: Wednesday, July 22, 2015 1:24 PM
To: histonet@lists.utsouthwestern.edu
Subject: [Histonet] understanding reagents in decalcifier; making it in-house
Hello Histonet,
The supplier for our decalcifier, TBD-2 from Shandon, is having issues with
getting the product out and we will not be receiving it for at least another
month. Our samples are piling up and I don't know what I should do, but maybe
I can make the decalcifier in-house. I am wondering if I can make my own based
on the reagents they listed and their percentages and if certain reagents are
not actually necessary.
The samples we typically decalcify are mouse knees (decal time = 2 days), mouse
spines (3 days), human bone slabs about 7mm in thickness (7-12 days). Fixation
is in zinc buffered formalin, then decalcification, then 70% EtOH. Our choice
to use TBD-2 is due to the gentle decalcification for IHC and we get GREAT
results.
Composition of Shandon TBD-2 Decalcifier:
Component Weight %
Water 77-80
Formic acid 21-23
Fluorad >1
Sodium citrate >1
Polyvinyl pyrrolidone >1
If you have any input on what reagents I should use and the percentages for
making a decalcifier myself, it would be much appreciated!
Thank you for you help,
Merissa
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