The penetration of methanol into bovine cardiac and hepatic tissues is faster than ethanol and formalin

European Journal of Histochemistry

卷:62

Guang Yang¹  Michelle Steicke²  Matthew Dunster-Jones²  Yutang Wang²  Farah Ahmady²  Tam Nguyen Dinh²  Owen Sargisson²  Jonathan Golledge³ 

[1] Department of Geriatric Cardiology, Qianfoshan Hospital Affiliated to Shandong University;

[2] Federation University Australia, School of Applied and Biomedical Science;

[3] James Cook University, College of Medicine and Dentistry The Townsville Hospital, Department of Vascular and Endovascular Surgery;

关键词: Ethanol;    formalin;    methanol;    penetration coefficient;    penetration rate.;   

DOI  :  10.4081/ejh.2018.2880

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

Methanol, ethanol and formalin are commonly used as fixatives to preserve biological tissues from decay in the preparation of histological sections. Fixation of the inner layers of the tissue depends on the ability of the fixative to diffuse into the tissue. It is unknown whether methanol penetrates tissues at similar rates to other fixatives. This study aimed to compare the penetration rates of methanol, ethanol and formalin into bovine heart and liver tissues. The penetration distance and tissue shrinkage or expansion were measured by analysing the digital images of tissue before and after immersion in different fixatives for 1, 2, 6 or 10 h. Data were analysed using two-way ANOVA, followed by Bonferroni’s post-hoc test. The penetration distance of methanol was significantly greater in both heart and liver tissues compared with that of ethanol (N=4, P<0.001). Methanol or ethanol immersion led to similar shrinkage of both tissues (P>0.05). The penetration rate of formalin was similar to that of ethanol in both tissues however it was significantly slower than methanol (N=4, P<0.005 in the heart; P<0.001 in the liver). The mean penetration coefficients of methanol, formalin and ethanol in the heart tissue were 2.609, 1.994 and 1.801, respectively, and 3.012, 2.153 and 2.113, respectively, in the liver tissue. The penetration coefficient of methanol was significantly greater than that of ethanol or formalin in both tissues (P<0.001 for each comparison). In conclusion, methanol penetrates tissue significantly faster than ethanol and formalin.

【 授权许可】

Unknown