Steedman's polyester wax embedment and de‐embedment for combined light and scanning electron microscopy

Abstract

AbstractSteedman's polyester wax mixture is a good, general‐purpose histological embedding medium that is suitable and convenient to use when it is desirable to combine light microscopy with scanning electron microscopy (SEM). A range of properties recommend this wax: it has a low melting temperature (37°C), is readily soluble in most dehydrating agents, results in negligible tissue shrinkage, preserves tissue antigenicity, and may even be used as a solvent for fixative agents. We prepare and embed tissues in polyester for light microscopy much as they would be for paraffin wax. For SEM, the block surface is micro‐ or ultraplaned, utilizing, respectively, a standard rotary microtome with razor blade knives or an ultramicrotome with glass knives. The block is de‐waxed in absolute alcohol and then taken to critical point drying. Similarly, sections mounted on coverslips or glass slides may be brought to the SEM after removing the wax. This enables one to bring to the SEM relatively large block faces or sections with good control over orientation. We find the results to be superior to similar procedures employing paraffin. We believe it to be more versatile and equivalent or superior to a variety of other techniques designed to gain access to the interior of tissues with SEM.