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Published on: September 21, 2012
Microwave-assisted staining of mucosal mast cells and granulated intra-epithelial lymphocytes after formalin fixation
D Biernacka1, K Szymanska, A Tomaszewska
1Department of Pathological Anatomy, Warsaw Medical School, Poland.
Rat jejunum was fixed with either formalin or methanol-formalin acetic acid (MFAA) and stained with Astra Blue or Alcian Blue with or without microwave irradiation. Staining of both mucosal mast cells and granulated intra-epithelial lymphocytes after formalin fixation was considerably improved by microwave irradiation. On the other hand, microwave irradiation slightly impaired staining of mucosal mast cells (MMC) and even more strongly granulated intra-epithelial lymphocytes (GIEL) after MFAA fixation.
Rat jejunum was fixed with either formalin or methanol-formalin acetic acid (MFAA) and stained with Astra Blue or Alcian Blue with or without microwave irradiation. Staining of both mucosal mast cells and granulated intra-epithelial lymphocytes after formalin fixation was considerably improved by microwave irradiation. On the other hand, microwave irradiation slightly impaired staining of mucosal mast cells (MMC) and even more strongly granulated intra-epithelial lymphocytes (GIEL) after MFAA fixation.

