Problems and artifacts of microwave accelerated procedures in neurohistotechnology and resolutions.

Microwaving artifacts in histoprocessing and staining arise from the acceleration of diffusional and reactive processes. Because such accelerations provide the advantages of microwaving, and because microwave ovens cannot distinguish desirable from undesirable accelerations, artifacts are inevitable. Such microwaving problems can be categorized as follows: histoprocessing and staining reagents may be lost or altered; staining targets may move away from their in vivo sites, may be totally lost from the specimen, or may be altered; physical characteristics such as permeability of specimens or embedding resins may be changed; and staining processes themselves are sometimes different at elevated temperatures. The most general tips for detecting and/or avoiding such problems are to monitor and control the temperature of the reagents and the specimen, to standardize the procedures, and to observe the specimen and reagents carefully during microwaving when a new procedure is being introduced to the laboratory. Copyright 1998 Academic Press.