I have a 6cm x 5cm section of a skull from a sheep, with the scalp attached. I have been decalcifying in 10% EDTA Ph 7.4. I have tried this method on a 6cm x 5cm section of a cat skull which took near to a month to decalcify. As the sheep skull is so thick, I am thinking it will take months. Is there a better method to perform decal which will be less time consuming and preserve the scalp attached?
If you are not going to do immunohistochemistry you can use formic acid based decal solutions or other acids. EDTA is very slow to desolve bone, ut puting the sample on a shaker may accelerate the process very slightly based on my experience with horse bone.
This link may also help:
http://www.ihcworld.com/_protocols/histology/decalcification_solution.htm
I don't have experience with retaining skin/scalp during demineralization, but I've had good success with demineralization with stirring in a beaker or Erlenmeyer flask. In the past I've used 0.5M disodium EDTA which may be faster than the 10% solution. I've successfully performed IF and IHC on tissue demineralized this way. Daily changes or twice a day changes really helps decrease the overall time as well.
- Badges
- Science topic
- Similar topics
- Methodology
- Laboratory
- Histological Techniques