Description of activities
MicroPICell aims to provide the human, material, and technical resources necessary to carry out histology projects. The objective is to offer the widest range of techniques to best meet the expectations and needs of research teams and projects. Each experiment is tailored to the specific issue presented. The platform has all the necessary equipment for sample preparation, sectioning, automation for slide processing, and imaging tools for result analysis.
The platform can also assist with antibody staining optimization in immunohistochemistry or immunofluorescence (single and multi-staining), developing new protocols, and optimizing or improving staining techniques.
The histology service of the platform offers histological services (products) and provides certain equipment to trained users.
The platform handles:
- - Chemically fixed samples, offering dehydration using an automated dehydrator, embedding in paraffin blocks using an embedding station, sectioning using a microtome, and spreading sections (one or more depending on sample size) on different types of slides as required.
- - Frozen samples, offering sectioning using a cryostat and spreading sections (one or more depending on sample size) on different types of slides depending on the technique used afterward (staining or immunostaining) and the tissue type.
Colorations
The platform performs and validates the following stains on slides:
- - HPS (Hematoxylin Phloxine Saffron): Visualizes tissue structure, highlighting nuclei, cytoplasm, and collagen fibers.
- - HE (Hematoxylin Eosin): Visualizes tissue structure, highlighting nuclei and cytoplasm.
- - Alcian Blue: Highlights mucins.
- - Picro Sirius: Highlights collagen.
- - Masson’s Trichrome: Highlights collagen.
- - Oil Red O: Highlights lipids (only on frozen sections).
- - PAS (Periodic Acid Schiff): Highlights polysaccharides in connective tissues and mucus.
- - Alizarin Red: Highlights calcium.
These stains are performed either using an automated stainer or manually. At the request of users, the platform can develop special staining techniques.
Immunostaining
The facility develops and performs immunostaining techniques on paraffin-embedded or frozen sections. These techniques can also be performed semi-autonomously by the requester (contact platform staff for more information).
Immunohistochemistry techniques can involve detecting marker(s) with chromogen(s) in single or multi-staining, or immunofluorescence with fluorochrome(s) in single or multi-staining. These techniques are performed using an automated immunostaining system or manually.
Dewaxing/demarking
The platform can also carry out the deparaffinisation and demasking of your sections spread out on silanised slides, so that you can carry out your immunolabelling in your laboratory.
Tissue Micro Arrayer (TMA)
The platform has a TMA system. Areas of interest determined from stained slides are taken from several donor blocks and collected on a recipient block (a paraffin-embedded blank block).
Decalcification
Small bone samples need to be decalcified to remove the calcium from the bone and to cut the paraffin block in which the sample is embedded. The sample is then immersed in one or more (depending on the size of the sample) decalcifier baths.