Re: paraformaldehyde or formaldehyde?
Julie Auger (jauger@flowcity.bsd.uchicago.edu)
Fri, 17 Nov 1995 14:45:05 -0600
At 05:21 PM 11/16/95 -0500, you wrote:
>On the advice of a previous message to the bulletin board I ordered 20%
>paraformaldehyde solution from Tousimis. I was quite suprised to see that
>what I received was labeled "formaldehyde". I called the company about
>this and they informed me that it is in fact a very high quality solution
>of paraformaldehyde but is called formaldehyde because in solution
>paraformaldehyde is in fact formaldehyde. Does this make sense or are they
>pulling my leg? Ned Landau, Aaron Diamond AIDS Research Center, New York,
>NY.
>
>
Yes, it makes sense. Most flow fixation protocols call for paraformaldehyde
(made from a stock powder reagents). You can order formaldehyde solutions,
but must be careful because it often times contains methanol without clear
indication. This can wreak havoc on your staining/fixation/detection.
Julie
********************************************************************************
Julie A. Auger voice: 312-702-9212 lab
Director, Flow Cytometry Facility 312-702-9261 office
University of Chicago fax: 312-702-3701
5841 S. Maryland Ave. MC-1089
Chicago, IL 60637 e-mail: jauger@flowcity.bsd.uchicago.edu
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