A two-step embedding process for better preservation of soft tissue surrounding coral implants.
Infiltration of paraffin or embedding polymers proceeds more quickly in soft than in mineralized tissue specimens (bone or biomaterial). The proposed method takes advantage of this difference to protect soft tissue from the action of decalcifying agents. After embedding a bone-soft-tissue sample in a hydrophobic polymer, it is cleared of the resin on one of its sides to permit access of the decalcifying solution to the mineral component. A second infiltration with another polymerizable solution that cures in the empty pores created by the dissolution makes it possible to obtain a homogeneous hard block, make thin slices, and perform enzyme histochemistry and immunostaining on well-preserved soft tissue with most of its antigenic and enzymatic properties intact.
Fricain
J C
JC
Inserm U 306-146, Bordeaux, France.
Rouais
F
F
Dupuy
B
B
D000818:Animals; D001672:Biocompatible Materials; D018786:Bone Substitutes; D003063:Cnidaria; D003238:Connective Tissue; D006651:Histocytochemistry; D008867:Microtomy; D019736:Prostheses and Implants; D012995:Solubility; D016610:Tissue Embedding; D014867:Water / Q000737:chemistry
D001672:Biocompatible Materials; D018786:Bone Substitutes; D014867:Water