I would like to slice frozen brain cortex from mice into two hemispheres in order to use them for two separate isolation methods. Any idea how this could be done without thawing the tissue. The tissues are stored in in -80.
Hello Nikhil. You will need a cryostat, which is basically a microtome housed in a freezing chamber that allows sectioning at temperatures of −20 to −30°C.
Hello Nikhil. You will need a cryostat, which is basically a microtome housed in a freezing chamber that allows sectioning at temperatures of −20 to −30°C.
If you want to separate the hemispheres without thawing, a hot single edged blade normally does the trick. We put a blade on a magnetic stirrer and turn the heater on. Be careful not to burn your fingertips, wear appropriate PPE!
Hey Nikhil, cutting in cryostaat and free-hand dissection is a good method, like Nurul mentioned. I find that it helps to bring the tissue from -80C to the cutting temp, namely, teansfer your brains in the cryostaat few hours before you dissect. I normally go as low (or as high) as -15C, because when the tissue is a bit softer it is much easier to dissect. Good luck!