Cold acetone fixation and methacrylate embedding. A suitable method for routine processing of bone marrow biopsies

Area of Science:

• Histopathology
• Immunohistochemistry
• Biomedical Research

Background:

• Routine bone marrow biopsy processing requires reliable methods for both histology and immunohistochemistry.
• Current methods may have limitations in preserving morphological details or antigenicity.

Purpose of the Study:

• To establish a reliable acetone fixation and methacrylate embedding method for bone marrow biopsies.
• To evaluate the suitability of this method for routine histological and immunohistochemical analyses.

Main Methods:

• Bone marrow biopsies were fixed in acetone at -18°C and embedded in methyl-/butylmethacrylate.
• Addition of polyethylene glycol 400 to minimize freeze artifacts.
• Optimized polymerization conditions (4°C, N,N-dimethyl-p-toluidine) to reduce benzoylperoxide concentration and preserve antigenicity.

Main Results:

• The method provides good conventional histological visualization comparable to other fixation procedures.
• It enables the use of a wide range of antibodies for immunohistochemical investigations.
• Minimal impact on immuno- and enzyme histochemistry quality was observed under optimized conditions.

Conclusions:

• Acetone fixation and methacrylate embedding offer a reliable and advantageous method for bone marrow biopsy processing.
• This technique supports both diagnostic and scientific immunohistochemical investigations with high-quality results.