Some new methods for affixing sections to glass slides. III. Pressure-sensitive adhesives.

A variety of polymeric formulations have been evaluated for use as pressure-sensitive adhesives in affixing sections of fresh or frozen tissues for histochemistry and other purposes. The best adhesive with respect to water resistance, refractive index, and low temperature tack was polyisobutylene. In mixtures of different molecular weights this adhesive is specially suited for room temperature or cryostat use. Slides coated with this adhesive should only be used with staining or incubation solutions which have been filtered and degassed. Mounting cannot be performed with xylene-containing media, UV-curable monomeric media being favored. For anhydrous processing or nonpermanent preparations, polyethyleneimines, which are soluble in water but insoluble in xylene, may be used. Mixtures of polydimethylsiloxanes can be applied for subsequent temporary mounting with water or aqueous media.