Chinese Bulletin of Botany ›› 2009, Vol. 44 ›› Issue (02): 230-235.DOI: 10.3969/j.issn.1674-3466.2009.02.013

• 技术方法 • Previous Articles     Next Articles

An Improved Clearing and De-waxing Method for Plant Paraffin Sectioning

Hubiao Yang, Xiaoxia Li, Lijuan Luo*   

  1. College of Horticulture and Garden Architecture, Hainan University, Danzhou 571737, China
  • Received:2008-05-26 Revised:2008-10-05 Online:2009-03-01 Published:2009-03-01
  • Contact: Lijuan Luo

Abstract:

Paraffin sectioning plays an important role in plant science research. It is used widely in histology to observe and explain microstructure and provides a credible method for development of plant histology. This study aimed to investigate the limitations in traditional paraffin sectioning, such as the complex and time-consuming traditional protocol for improved measure. Xylene, a kind of neurotoxicant, is often used as a dewaxing and clearing chemical in the materials-preparation process. We substituted histolene (C1OH16), van-clear, oil of turpentine and n-butanol for xylene, to avoid a toxic effect. We improved the method to simplify the process of paraffin sectioning, shorten the cycle of the experiment and obtain quality slides.