A novel method for preparation of tissue microarray

AIM:To improve the technique of tissue microarray(tissuechip).METHODS:A new tissue microarraying method wasinvented with a common microscope installed with a specialholing needle,a sampling needle,and a special box fixingparaffin blocks on the microscope slide carrier.With themovement of microscope tube and objective stage on verticaland cross dimensions respectively,the holing procedure onthe recipient paraffin blocks and sampling procedure of coretissue biopsies taken from the donor blocks were performedwith the refitted microscope on the same platform.Theprecise observation and localization of representative regionsin the donor blocks were also performed with the microscopeequipped with a stereoscope.RESULTS:Highly-qualified tissue chips of colorectal tumorswere produced by a new method,which simplified theconventional microarraying procedure,and was moreconvenient and accurate than that employing the existingtissue microarraying instruments.CONCLUSION:Using the refitted common microscope toproduce tissue microarray is a simple,reliable,cost-effectiveand well-applicable technique.