I have mouse lung tissue embedded in paraffin blocks, and I am trying to slice them to make slides. I did not fix these tissues, so I cannot speak to the fixation process at all, or anything that could have gone wrong during the process. These blocks are about 1.5 years old. When I try to slice these blocks on a microtome, I cannot get one consistent ribbon of tissue. The ribbon splits vertically so I get several long pieces, but they are not joined together well (I hope that makes sense). I have read about people heating them, cooling them, using fabric softener, etc. to try to improve the texture for slicing. Does anyone have a relatively easy protocol for getting better slices?
New blade may be a decision. If not it is possible to clean the old one with xylol. Before cutting it's recommended to clean the block surface and after that shortly freeze by spray. Good luck
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