I'm going to be collecting whole brain from E18 C57 embryos for chromatin immunoprecipitation later. I'm also trying to collect a clean plasma sample from the euthanized dam and pooled plasma from the pups. A lab member suggested using euthasol (sodium pentobarbital) to anesthetize the dam and do a cardiac puncture to get good quality blood.

In the past I have euthanized with isoflurane followed by cervical dislocation. No one in the lab uses CO2 when collecting adult brain tissue for RNA analysis. Ideally the method would be quick enough that I'm not causing too many changes in the embryo brains before I can remove them and freeze them on dry ice.

Any suggestions about obtaining the best quality brain tissue for these experiments?

Thanks!