Free Floating Sections
Free Floating Sections - Related Videos
06:45
Histological-Based Stainings Using Free-Floating Tissue Sections
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Cited by 28 •
2020
The free-floating technique allows researchers to perform histological-based stainings including immunohistochemistry on fixed tissue sections to visualize biological structures, cell type, and protein expression and localization. This is an efficient and reliable histochemical technique that can be useful for investigating a multitude of tissues, such as brain, heart, and liver.
05:00
The Cutting and Floating Method for Paraffin-embedded Tissue for Sectioning
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Cited by 21 •
2018
Here, we present a protocol to improve paraffin sectioning. This method combines cutting and floating using a simple thermostatic chamber to avoid the transfer process required by the conventional method. As a result, the efficiency and the number of intact paraffin sections were greatly improved.
10:53
Analysis of Astrocyte Territory Volume and Tiling in Thick Free-Floating Tissue Sections
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Cited by 4 •
2022
This protocol describes methods for sectioning, staining, and imaging free-floating tissue sections of the mouse brain, followed by a detailed description of the analysis of astrocyte territory volume and astrocyte territory overlap or tiling.
13:10
Stability of Floating Vessels
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2023
Source: Alexander S Rattner and Kevin Rao Li Department of Mechanical and Nuclear Engineering, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA The objective of this experiment is to demonstrate the phenomenon of stability of floating vessels - the ability to self-right when rolled over to the side by some external force. Careful design of hull shapes and internal mass distribution enables seagoing vessels to be stable with low drafts (submerged depth of hull), improving vessel...
03:50
Preparing Free-Floating Slice Cultures from an Adult Human Brain
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2025
This video demonstrates a technique for preparing free-floating slice cultures from the adult human brain. Thin slices are generated from a brain section using a vibratome. These slices are then suspended in a culture medium supplemented with growth factors to maintain tissue viability.
FAQs
Free-floating sections improve reagent access by exposing both faces of the tissue to the staining or labeling solution. Antibodies, dyes, and related reagents can therefore approach the section from opposite sides instead of relying primarily on access from one exposed surface. This more balanced contact supports more uniform penetration, which is important when comparing cellular or protein labeling across a section.
Gentle agitation promotes exchange between the liquid and the tissue surface. It helps prevent the surrounding solution from remaining static, allowing staining or labeling reagents to contact the section more evenly. The movement must remain gentle because the sections are suspended rather than supported by a slide. Its practical value is improved reagent contact during liquid-based processing.
Keeping a section unattached is particularly useful when the specimen contains delicate architecture that benefits from access on both sides. Unlike a slide-attached preparation, the tissue can remain surrounded by labeling solution during processing, while gentle movement assists solution exchange. This arrangement is well suited to brain sections in which cellular markers and anatomical connections need to be examined together.
The workflow begins with thin slices of fixed tissue placed in a liquid containing the selected staining or labeling reagents. Sections remain suspended while the reagents contact both surfaces, and gentle agitation may be used to improve exchange. Once processing is complete, each section is mounted for microscopy. This sequence links reagent exposure with the final examination of tissue organization and markers.
Mounting converts a processed, suspended section into a preparation suitable for microscopic examination. It follows the liquid-based staining or labeling stage, so the tissue can be positioned and viewed after reagent exposure is complete. The resulting preparation supports analysis of cellular markers, protein expression, tissue organization, and anatomical connections while retaining the information generated during suspended processing.
Biologists can use this approach when they need to examine brain or other delicate tissues while retaining informative spatial relationships. It is especially relevant to studies that combine tissue organization with cellular markers, protein expression, or anatomical connections. After liquid-based processing, the sections can be mounted for microscopy so these structural and labeling features are evaluated together.
Microscopy of the mounted sections can reveal how labeled cellular features are distributed within the tissue and how those features relate to overall organization. Depending on the reagents used, analysis may focus on protein expression, cellular markers, or anatomical connections. The value of the preparation is therefore not only signal detection, but also interpreting that signal in its preserved anatomical context.