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Member Directory/NSH Teleconference: Beginning Chemistry for the Histotech
Presented by: Peggy A. Wenk, HTL(ASCP)SLS, William Beaumont Hospital, Royal Oak, MI
If acids and bases are both corrosive, why are they at different pH’s? And what exactly is a pH? Can I substitute hydrochloric acid for acetic acid? What’s the difference between an organic compound, an inorganic compound, and something that is biochemical? If for-malin and zinc-formalin are both fixatives, why do the nuclei stain better after the tissue is fixed in the zinc-formalin. And why does hematoxylin stains nuclei while eosin stains cytoplasm? Why do these stains sometimes stain wrong? And the big question – how do I fix things that go wrong? Very typical questions for histotechs. With a little understanding of chemistry, these questions, and others, will be explained related to fixation, processing, and staining of tissues.