Mount sections in DPX

Mounting in a synthetic resin eg. DPX

Wear nitrile gloves while handling xylene-containing materials

1. After dehydrating the sections in absolute alcohol and xylene, transfer the rack of slides and trough of xylene to a fume cupboard.

2. Remove a glass syringe from a trough of xylene, kept inside the fume cupboard using metal forceps and half-fill with DPX resin. Wet the plunger with xylene and insert into the barrel of the syringe.

3. Select the appropriately sized coverslip to fit the section and place on a sheet of fibre-free postlip paper. Apply a drop of DPX to the coverslip.

4. Using forceps, remove a slide from the rack and drain surplus xylene onto a paper tissue; gently lower the slide containing the section onto the drop of DPX so that the section is sandwiched between its slide and the coverslip. Turn the slide over and allow the DPX to spread between the section and coverslip.

5. Using a paper tissue, wipe surplus DPX off the slide, around the coverslip and leave to dry.

6. When the DPX has hardened sufficiently, apply a slide label to the opposite end of the number and enter the correct number and name as on the slide/specimen form.

7. Place the labelled slide(s) in a slide tray and, with the matched specimen form, give to the person responsible for checking the work prior to giving to the pathologist.

NOTE: No responsibility is assumed by The University of Nottingham or the Queens Medical Centre NHS Trust for any injury and/or damage to persons or property as a matter of products liability, negligence or otherwise, or from any use or operation of any methods, products, instructions or ideas contained in the material herein. It is the users responsibilty to ensure that all procedures are carried out according to appropriate Health and Safety requirements.

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© Copyright 1997 University of Nottingham Medical School Division of Histopathology. This page was last built on Mon, May 5, 1997 with Frontier. Thanks for looking in. Comments to James.Lowe@nottingham.ac.uk