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Materials
- Fixed brain tissue
- Tubes (one per tissue): conical tube (50 or 15 ml capacity), cryotube (2-5 ml capacity), or whatever size that's appropriate for the brain. The container should be made of plastic.
- Gauze (for whole perfusion-fixed brain)
- Fixative solution (same composition as used for fixation of brain tissue)
- Parafilm
- Cold pack (0-4°C): A small one should be sufficient. The purpose of this is to prevent drastic temperature fluctuations inside the box during shipping rather than keeping it at 4°C.
- Ziploc bag (or equivalent)
- Styrofoam box
- Packing material
- Packing tape
Procedure
- Figure out a container that is suitable size for brain tissue being shipped:
- Whole perfusion-fixed rat brain: 50-ml conical tube
- Whole perfusion-fixed mouse brain: 15-ml conical tube is probably sufficient for a whole mouse brain (not tested)
- Fixed slab of brain tissue or acute slices: cryotube (2-5 ml capacity); tissue must fit without bending – if a cryotube is too small, use 15-ml conical tube.
- Label the tube(s).
- For a whole brain:
- Soak gauze in the fixative and loosely wrap the brain with it. Make sure that the wrapped brain fits snugly in the tube -- it should not move around but can slide in and out of the tube without extra force.
- Add ~20 ml of the fixative into a 50-ml conical tube. (~6 ml into a 15-ml tube)
- Place the gauze-wrapped brain into the tube.
- Fill the tube completely with the fixative.
- Tighten the cap and wrap around with a piece of Parafilm. Wipe clean the exterior of the tube.
- Place the tube into a Ziploc bag. Eliminate air before closing the bag.
- For a slab or slices:
- Fill ~3/4 of a cryotube with the fixative.
- Place the fixed tissue into the tube without bending.
- Minimize handling to keep the tissue from mechanical stress. If it is small enough, use a disposable transfer pipet (with its tip cut off) to place it into the tube.
- Fill the tube completely with the fixative.
- Tighten the cap. Wipe clean the exterior of the tube.
- Place the cryotube into a 50-ml conical tube with padding (e.g., gauze or Kimwipe). Tighten the cap.
- Place the tube into a Ziploc bag. Eliminate air before closing the bag.
- Place the Ziploc bag containing tube(s) and a cold pack into a Styrofoam box. Fill the box with packing material so that the tube(s) and cold pack wouldn't move around.
- Close the box and seal with packing tape. Now the box is ready for overnight shipment.