[Histonet] Temporary block and slide storage for referral specimens -nosig

Good morning all and happy Friday! My company provides testing on FFPE material, and we received paraffin blocks and/or unstained slides and H&E stained slides. The blocks and H&E stained slides are returned to the originating path lab after the results are generated (currently 2-3 weeks after

[Histonet] Richard Allan Clarifier 1 CofA -nosig

Hi all, I'm hoping someone from a vendor contact or someone who uses this can help. Our quality practice requires us to receive and review CofA documents for all our reagents. I'm having difficulty receiving them for Clarifier 1 which we purchase through FisherScientific. The last one we receiv

Re: [Histonet] p16 from Ventana

Wait...what? When is Ventana p16 being discontinued? Teri Johnson, HT(ASCP)QIHC Manager, Clinical Trial Testing T +1 760 516 5954 tejohn...@genoptix.com Navigate BioPharma, Inc. A Novartis Company 1890 Rutherford Rd. Carlsbad, CA 92008 USA Date: Wed, 5 Apr 2017 01:54:06 + From: Samantha Cl

Re: [Histonet] Intensity of Mayer's Hematoxylin

Hi Mariam, Mayer's is a progressive hematoxylin. Therefore you should increase your time in the stain to get a deeper color. You might try 10 or 20 minutes and see what works best for you. You can do your bluing in tap water or even buffer solution rather than ammonium hydroxide if you prefer.

[Histonet] So long and thanks for all the fish!

Dr. Richmond, Thank you for all your contributions to the histonet over the years. I would have loved working with you. I know I loved learning from you. Best wishes and happy retirement! Teri Johnson, HT(ASCP)QIHC Manager, Clinical Trial Testing T +1 760 516 5954 tejohn...@genoptix.com

Re: [Histonet] TUNEL

Hi Bernice, Likely there is something in your TUNEL procedure that is causing a problem with histochemical nuclear staining. If it isn't the pre-treatment, it might be the DAPI. After all, they do bind the same structures, and the DAPI might be winning that competition. Teri Johnson Manager, C

Re: [Histonet] ventana customers

Melissa wrote: Good Morning, I am looking for feedback into technical bulletins and memos recently released. We run benchmark ultras and special strainers. We are also a facility that uses Vantage. We have never used the clear label overlays they say are mandatory. I also do not like the sou

[Histonet] Primera slide printers

Hi Histoland, I would love to hear from folks who are currently using the Primera slide printers in your lab. We are working towards bringing them on line (networked) and still have not worked out the physical bugs for printing and slide jamming. We want to know some of the issues you have work

Re: [Histonet] Samples not staining with Hematoxylin or primary

Anna wrote: I'm curious as to why we heat the Auramine Rhodamine when we are staining tissue sections but our Micro lab stains at room temp. It is because "it's always been done that way"? Thanks group, Angie Hi Anna, If your dispensers are working properly, I would bet it's your slides. There

Re: [Histonet] Testicular biopsy for infertility

Dr. Rich Cartun asks: "What are people fixing testicular biopsies in to evaluate infertility? In the past, I believe fixatives such as Zenker's and Bouin's were used for this purpose since they enhance nuclear detail. Obviously, those fixatives can no longer be used. Thank you." I can unde

Re: [Histonet] Shandon Varistain Gemini Slide Stainer

Hi Thomas, Are you looking for true life expectancy or what is reported for depreciation? In my experience, most tissue processors never die, but only need to be retired due to lack of available support/parts or because a lab requires newer technology. Also in my experience, a "better" model c

[Histonet] Validating IHC on decalcified specimens

Hi Histonetters, Can someone tell me if they do anything specific to validate their IHC markers on decalcified specimens? If no, do you test them anyway? Teri Johnson Manager, Clinical Trial Testing Genoptix, Inc., a Novartis company BioPharma 1811 Aston Avenue Carlsbad, CA 92008 USA Phone +1

Re: [Histonet] H&E staining

Hi Charles, If my memory serves, Clarifier 1 and Clarifier 2 are different mostly in that one is an alcoholic solution and the other an aqueous one. So they both behave differently in their mechanism of action. The alcohol based reagent should remove more hematoxylin from the cells than the aqu

Re: [Histonet] H&E Troubleshooting

Hi Cassie, I would strongly suspect your tap water. If you have a tap water rinse before hematoxylin, the pH or treatment additives carrying over could be weakening your stain. We fixed this problem previously by adding a bucket of DI water between the tap water wash and the hematoxylin, and th

Re: [Histonet] Nuclear bubbling artifact

Hi James, Nuclear bubbling artifact is most commonly seen in formalin fixed epithelial cells, and GI biopsies are among those samples that are particularly susceptible to it. It has been linked to inadequate fixation and also to heating of slides prior to staining without complete air-drying of

Re: [Histonet] received dates no longer required

As of January 2016, the updated NY State Dept of Health standards still require received date, and date the material is placed in service or opened: Reagents Sustaining Standard of Practice 4 (REAG S4): Inventory Control There shall be an inventory control system for supplies. This system should

Re: [Histonet] curling of kidney sections in waterbath

Hi Mohamed, You didn't mention if you are doing human or animal histology. Since this is only happening for kidney, I am wondering if what you describe is caused by the kidney capsule? It might be preventing good infiltration of the fixative or paraffin? I may be able to give a more precise ans

Re: [Histonet] DIF on paraffin embedded tissue

Maryann, Whoa, bad day. I'm sorry for you and for the patient. As for whether the testing usually performed in frozen section by Direct ImmunoFluorescence can be successfully done on FFPE, Liz Chlipala is probably the closest to answering this. This was likely a kidney or skin biopsy. The pane

[Histonet] Job opening - Genoptix, Carlsbad, CA

Dear colleagues, We have an opening in our Clinical Trials Testing group, looking for an IHC Specialist/Scientist. Here is the text: Are you looking for a new opportunity with a reputable, fast-growing organization? Do you want to find a place to work that has an exciting global mission, inno

Re: [Histonet] HTL Career Path

Hi Anna, I really cannot beat what Tim has said in response to your concerns. He is spot on and I think his experience in some way mirrors my own (with the exception of industry experience). My question to you, though, relates to your expectation. How quickly are you expecting to advance in yo