THIS RESEARCH IS INTENDED TO PROVIDE NEW SOLUBLE PLASTIC EMBEDDING RESINS USEFUL IN PREPARING MORPHOLOGICALLY SUPERIOR TISSUE SECTIONS FOR ELECTRON AND LIGHT MICROSCOPY.

THIS RESEARCH IS INTENDED TO PROVIDE NEW SOLUBLE PLASTIC EMBEDDING RESINS USEFUL IN PREPARING MORPHOLOGICALLY SUPERIOR TISSUE SECTIONS FOR ELECTRON AND LIGHT MICROSCOPY. THESE POLYMERS WHICH ARE NOT CROSS-LINKED ARE AMENABLE TO A MILD SOLVENT TREATMENT WHICH ALLOWS PENETRATION BY IMMUNOGLOBULINS AND OTHER TISSUE MARKERS WHICH ARE OF GREAT CURRENT INTEREST. SUCH AN EMBEDDING RESIN WILL MINIMIZE THE PATIENT COST AND THE AMOUNT OF PATIENT BIOPSY TISSUE AND AT THE SAME TIME INCREASE THE DIAGNOSTIC VALUE FROM A SINGLE EMBEDDED BLOCK. OUR APPROACH PROPOSES THE DEVELOPMENT OF POLYMERS WHICH ARE E-BEAM STABLE AND CAPABLE OF BEING THIN SECTIONED THUS ALLOWING THE PHYSICAL PROPERTIES NECESSARY FOR ELECTRON MICROSCOPY AND LIGHT MICROSCOPY MICROTOMY. THIS WILL BE ACCOMPLISHED BY INCORPORATING INTO THE POLYMERIC COMPOSITIONS AROMATIC NUCLEI WHICH RENDER THE POLYMER ELECTRON BEAM STABLE. BY ADJUSTING COPOLYMER COMPOSITION: THE HARDNESS, SOLUBILITY, CHEMICAL AND STAINING CHARACTERISTICS OF THE POLYMER WILL BE MODIFIED TO YIELD THE DESIRED SECTIONING PROPERTIES. THE COMMERCIAL ACCEPTANCE OF EMBEDDING MEDIA WHICH MEETS THE CRITERIA WE HAVE PROPOSED IS VERY PROMISING AS RESEARCHERS AND CLINICAL LABORATORIES HAVE NEED OF SAME FOR THIN IMMUNODIAGNOSTIC TEST PROCEDURES.