Efficacy of cyanoacrylate adhesive as a mounting medium for soft tissue sections as an alternative to Kirkpatrick and Lendrum's DPX

Abstract

Introduction: Mounting is the final stage in histologically preparing a slide and creates a permanent the bond between the coverslip and the slide, preventing breakage, air drying artefacts, and stain fading. Materials & methods: In this study, fifty slides were prepared, twenty-five of which were mounted using DPX and twenty five using cyanoacrylate adhesive. The slides were assessed for clarity of nuclear and cytoplasmic details, adhesion between coverslip and slide, and the presence of air bubbles by two blinded observers. Results: The results showed that adhesion between coverslip and slide was better when mounted with cyanoacrylate adhesive, but better clarity of nuclear and cytoplasmic details and minimal air bubble entrapment was seen when tissue sections were mounted using DPX. Conclusion: Therefore, the use of cyanoacrylate adhesive cannot be an alternative to DPX for mounting soft tissue sections.