Abstract:

BACKGROUND: It is difficult to cut thin sections of cortical bone and tissues installed with hard implant using Polycut microtome. Recently, such sections are commonly fabricated with EXAKT system.
OBJECTIVE: To prepare thin sections of soft and hard tissues that contained metal implants by using EXAKT system.
METHODS: The samples were obtained from the distal femur of rat, the fracture callus in mouse femur, the canine mandible with titanium alloy implant and the porcine coronary artery containing Co-Cr stent. The samples were fixed with polyformaldehyde and dehydrated with acetone, and then embedded with methylmethacrylate. The embedded samples were cut into 300 μm thick sections and then ground down to 5-10 μm. The thin sections were stained with hematoxylin-eosin or toluidine blue when necessary and observed under light microscope.
RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: Toluidine blue staining showed that metaphyseal mineralized trabecular bone in the tissue sections of rat distal femur was light blue, and cortical bone was integrated with no fragmentation. The light blue host bone of the canine mandible with titanium alloy implant sections was closely integrated with the black metal implant and formed a solid interface. The callus sections of the tetracycline-labeled mouse femoral shaft fracture showed significant double fluorescence band under fluorescence microscope (ultraviolet light). Hematoxylin-eosin staining of the porcine coronary artery sections containing Co-Cr stent showed that the scaffold material remained in place without detachment or wavering phenomenon from the vessel wall, and the tissue was contained without shrinkage or collapse. The results suggest that proper use of EXAKT system is able to produce high-quality sections of soft and hard tissues, which can show the tissue structures and installed implant clearly.