Histology Service

The facility provides a range of histology and immunohistochemistry services for the research groups. It offers routine processing for all types of fixed tissue for paraffin-embedded histology, cryomicrotomy, cell pellet processing, H+E staining and special histology stains. A Thermo Excelsior machine offers large-scale tissue processing, while a Finesse microtome allows consistent sectioning quality. Material for PCR investigation can be sectioned from both paraffin-embedded and frozen material. Immunohistochemistry and immunofluorescence work can be undertaken with the laboratory utilising a Dako Autostainer for large-scale immunohistochemistry investigations. In addition, we provide in situ hybridisation using a reagent system designed to visualise cellular RNA targets in formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissue sections and bright-field microscopy. Staining for this is performed on a Leica Bond RX autostainer, and specific probes can be purchased or designed to exact specifications by external companies.