title: Quick and inexpensive paraffin-embedding method for dynamic bone formation analyses.
abstract: We have developed a straightforward method that uses paraffin-embedded bone for undemineralized thin sectioning, which is amenable to subsequent dynamic bone formation measurements. Bone has stiffer material properties than paraffin, and therefore has hereforto usually been embedded in plastic blocks, cured and sectioned with a tungsten carbide knife to obtain mineralized bone sections for dynamic bone formation measures. This process is expensive and requires special equipment, experienced personnel, and time for the plastic to penetrate the bone and cure. Our method utilizes a novel way to prepare mineralized bone that increases its compliance so that it can be embedded and easily section in paraffin blocks. The approach is simple, quick, and costs less than 10% of the price for plastic embedded bone sections. While not effective for static bone measures, this method allows dynamic bone analyses to be readily performed in laboratories worldwide which might not otherwise have access to traditional (plastic) equipment and expertise.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan, USA.|Investigative HistoPathology Lab, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan, USA.
authors.forename: Amy
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Porter
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan, USA.
authors.forename: Regina
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Irwin
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan, USA.|Investigative HistoPathology Lab, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan, USA.
authors.forename: Josselyn
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Miller
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, Indiana University, Indianapolis, Indiana, USA.
authors.forename: Daniel J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Horan
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, Indiana University, Indianapolis, Indiana, USA.
authors.forename: Alexander G
authors.initials: AG
authors.lastname: Robling
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan, USA.|Department of Radiology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan, USA.|Biomedical Imaging Research Center, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan, USA.
authors.forename: Laura R
authors.initials: LR
authors.lastname: McCabe
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D015415:Biomarkers; D001842:Bone and Bones / Q000166:cytology* / Q000378:metabolism*; D005455:Fluorescent Antibody Technique; D006651:Histocytochemistry / Q000379:methods; D051379:Mice; D010012:Osteogenesis
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers