NSH Poster Podcast: P51 (2024)

Assessing Adhesion Slide Performance Across Histology Applications -Colin Brewer, CellPath, Newtown, Wales; Rachel Finn, HTL, StatLab, McKinney, TX; Neil Haine, PhD, CellPath, Newtown, Wales; Arielle Hobson, StatLab, McKinney, TX; Moritz Kamphenkel, Knittel Glass, Braunschweig, Germany; Ronja-Melinda Komoll, Ph.D, Knittel Glass, Braunschweig, Germany; Racheal Moore, HT, StatLab, McKinney, TX; Nicole Romer, Knittel Glass, Braunschweig, Germany; Edeltraud Schikora, Knittel Glass, Braunschweig, Germany; Stefan Welsch, Knittel Glass, Braunschweig, Germany; Susan Willis, CellPath, Newtown, Wales

Adhesion slides are widely preferred for IHC to aid in securing tissue sections to the slide and prevent reworks that could potentially postpone a patient diagnosis and drive-up costs in the lab. The cost of reworking a failed IHC slide due to poor tissue adhesion is estimated to be ~$80 per slide, considering the reagent cost and workload administration.1 Adhesion slides reinforce tissue adherence and integrity, minimizing the need to recut and restain the sample to ensure proper tissue morphological characteristics. Adhesion slides may also be used for H&E stains and special stains for added adhesion, but could retain excess reagent, or background staining, on the slide. In this study the differences in contact angle and in tissue adherence during microtomy were analyzed,  investigation was done on whether different adhesion slides exhibit similar levels of background staining during histological staining procedures, and evaluation and comparison of the tissue adhesion properties of adhesion slide brands across different tissue types and applications was performed. 
After wide-ranging testing of adhesion slide characteristics, this study exhibited that not all adhesion slides are created equal. While water bath behavior showed to not be a relevant factor, there was considerable variation in background staining and tissue adhesion between slides. The results of this study suggested that it is important to determine what the needs are for your laboratory based on the types of staining done and tissue types used. It is also important to test adhesion slides to find the right slide or slides for your laboratory applications.