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Bifunctional reagents as vapour- and liquid-phase fixatives for immunohistochemistry

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Out of a total of eleven bifunctional reagents tested as fixatives for light microscopic immunohistochemistry, four were found satisfactory when applied in the vapour phase to freeze-dried blocks. These were diethylpyrocarbonate, as observed in carlier studies, dimethyladipimidate,p-benzoquinone, and diacetyl. Adequate but less satisfactory liquid-phase fixation was provided by three reagents (dimethyladipimidate, dimethylsuberimidate,p-benzoquinone).

None of the eleven reagents gave optimal preservation of antigenicity and structure when tested at the ultrastructural level. Encouraging results were obtained withp-benzoquinone, however.

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Pearse, A.G.E., Polak, J.M. Bifunctional reagents as vapour- and liquid-phase fixatives for immunohistochemistry. Histochem J 7, 179–186 (1975). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01004561

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