I have around 2,000 free-floating brain sections that need to be shipped from North Carolina to California. The sections are currently sitting in an anti-freeze solution and I would be shipping them using frozen water bottles, hopefully one day shipping.
However: 1)I have no method to seal the plastic well plates the free-floating sections are sitting in, and 2) if they bump during transport and are exposed to air I am afraid they will get dried out.
Does anyone have experience with shipping free-floating sections?
Hi Justin,
If the sections were not so many in number, I would've advised you to put them in bijou tubes (7ml) ones and ship.
However, in this case I presume they are in 24 well plates (or some such plate format)? If so, then the best way would be to top up the anti-freeze till the top of each well of the plate. Then cover the plate entirely with parafilm such that the parafilm is in contact with a bit of the anti-freeze of each well. Stretch the parafilm at the plate ends so it extends beyond the plate dimensions and then place the lid on top. The lid should fit tightly.
To further seal, you can tape the lid with any suitable packaging tape.
Finally, I would try to pack these plates really tight, stacked on each other with no room for movement.
I have not tried this method myself but this would perhaps be my choice of sending them. You might want to try sending a couple of plates first and see if they arrive in good condition and then follow suit with the rest.
Goodluck
Navneet
If you are planning to use dry ice, in my experience the best carrier is World Courier (somewhat expensive, but highly efficient)
Navneet's answer is spot on. We have shipped using this method when moving labs across country. If you are going FedEx I would suggest very clearly labeling "This side up" and pack with blue ice packs.
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