title: Practical aspects of fixatives in high resolution nuclear image analysis.
abstract: Three different methods of fixation (ethanol/Carbowax, formaldehyde, and Carnoy) and four different protocols (without Böhm post-fixation on an uncoated slide, and with Böhm post-fixation on Poly-L-Lysine coated slide, an uncoated slide and a previously Papanicolaou stained slide) were evaluated for their application in high resolution image analysis of Feulgen stained nuclei. The aim of the study was to find a combination with the best reproducibility and the least variance under normal laboratory conditions. Care was taken not to exclude any "normal" laboratory variability. The combinations were evaluated for densitometric, geometric, as well as texture features. Selected features were determined on a CAS-100 using the Cell Measurement Program (Cell Analysis Systems, Inc. Lombard, IL). Diploid and tetraploid rat liver nuclei were used. Ethanol/Carbowax fixation-with Böhm post-fixation proved most stable. This fixation method also gave feature values for previously Papanicolaou stained slides that were comparable to direct Feulgen stained nuclei. Acceptable results were achieved with all three fixatives and the various combinations if one adhered strictly to protocol. In routine practice this usually does not happen. Therefore Ethanol/Carbowax fixation with Böhm post-fixation was considered most suited for routine determination of feature values on the CAS-100.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, University Hospital Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: A C
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Makkus
authors.forename: A E
authors.initials: AE
authors.lastname: van 't Hof-Grootenboer
authors.forename: M M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Pahlplatz
authors.forename: P C
authors.initials: PC
authors.lastname: de Wilde
authors.forename: A J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Gemmink
authors.forename: V M
authors.initials: VM
authors.lastname: Cuypers
authors.forename: G P
authors.initials: GP
authors.lastname: Vooijs
mesh_terms: D000085:Acetates; D019342:Acetic Acid; D000818:Animals; D002467:Cell Nucleus / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D048429:Cell Size; D002725:Chloroform; D004396:Coloring Agents; D004247:DNA / Q000032:analysis*; D000431:Ethanol; D005404:Fixatives / Q000494:pharmacology*; D005557:Formaldehyde; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D008099:Liver / Q000648:ultrastructure; D011003:Ploidies; D011092:Polyethylene Glycols; D051381:Rats; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012394:Rosaniline Dyes; D013194:Staining and Labeling; D016707:Tissue Fixation / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D000085:Acetates; C033474:Carnoy's solution; D004396:Coloring Agents; C007722:Feulgen stain; D005404:Fixatives; D012394:Rosaniline Dyes; D005557:Formaldehyde; D000431:Ethanol; D011092:Polyethylene Glycols; D002725:Chloroform; D004247:DNA; D019342:Acetic Acid