Accelerated staining technique using kitchen microwave oven

Histopathological diagnosis of specimens is greatly dependent on good sample preparation and staining. Both of these processes is governed by diffusion of fluids and dyes in and out of the tissue, which is the key to staining. Diffusion of fluids can be accelerated by the application of heat that reduces the time of staining from hours to the minute. We modified an inexpensive model of kitchen microwave oven for staining. This study is an attempt to compare the reliability of this modified technique against the tested technique of routine staining so as to establish the kitchen microwave oven as a valuable diagnostic tool.

Sixty different tissue blocks were used to prepare 20 pairs of slides for 4 different stains namely hematoxylin and eosin, Van Gieson's, 0.1% toluidine blue and periodic acid-Schiff. From each tissue block, two bits of tissues were mounted on two different slides. One slide was stained routinely, and the other stained inside a microwave. A pathologist evaluated the stained slides and the results so obtained were analyzed statistically.

Microwave staining considerably cut down the staining time from hours to seconds. Microwave staining showed no loss of cellular and nuclear details, uniform-staining characteristics and was of excellent quality.

The cellular details, nuclear details and staining characteristics of microwave stained tissues were better than or equal to the routine stained tissue. The overall quality of microwave-stained sections was found to be better than the routine stained tissue in majority of cases.