title: Preparation of compact agarose cell blocks from the residues of liquid-based cytology samples.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Inevitable loss of diagnostic material should be minimized during cell block preparation. We introduce a modified agarose cell block technique that enables the synthesis of compact cell blocks by using the entirety of a cell pellet without the loss of diagnostic material during cell block preparations. The feasibility of this technique is illustrated by high-throughput immunocytochemistry using high-density cell block microarray (CMA).
  
  
  METHODS
  The cell pellets of Sure- Path residues were pre-embedded in ultra-low gelling temperature agarose gel and re-embedded in standard agarose gel. They were fixed, processed, and embedded in paraffin using the same method as tissue sample processing. The resulting agarose cell blocks were trimmed and represented on a CMA for high-throughput analysis using immunocytochemical staining.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The SurePath residues were effectively and entirely incorporated into compact agarose cell buttons and embedded in paraffin. Sections of the agarose cell blocks revealed cellularities that correlated well with corresponding SurePath smears and had immunocytochemical features that were sufficient for diagnosis of difficult cases.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This agarose-based compact cell block technique enables preparation of high-quality cell blocks by using up the residual SurePath samples without loss of diagnostic material during cell block preparation.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Inha University Hospital, Inha University School of Medicine, Incheon, Korea.
authors.forename: Suk Jin
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Choi
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Inha University Hospital, Inha University School of Medicine, Incheon, Korea.
authors.forename: Yeon Il
authors.initials: YI
authors.lastname: Choi
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Inha University Hospital, Inha University School of Medicine, Incheon, Korea.
authors.forename: Lucia
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Inha University Hospital, Inha University School of Medicine, Incheon, Korea.
authors.forename: In Suh
authors.initials: IS
authors.lastname: Park
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Inha University Hospital, Inha University School of Medicine, Incheon, Korea.
authors.forename: Jee Young
authors.initials: JY
authors.lastname: Han
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Inha University Hospital, Inha University School of Medicine, Incheon, Korea.
authors.forename: Joon Mee
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Inha University Hospital, Inha University School of Medicine, Incheon, Korea.
authors.forename: Young Chae
authors.initials: YC
authors.lastname: Chu
keywords: Biopsy, fine-needle; Cell block microarray; Immunocytochemistry; Paraffin embedding; Sepharose