Vibrating Microtome

Vibrating Microtome, renowned for its excellent functionality and performance with high cost-effectiveness, has been extensively utilized in scientific research, education, chemical engineering, healthcare, and other sectors for over 30 years. The vibrating microtome made its debut at the 1988 Annual Conferences of Neuroanatomy and Histology & Embryology hosted by the Chinese Anatomical Society.

According to incomplete statistics, as of 2019, domestic customers for Chinese-made vibrating microtomes are primarily concentrated in major domestic research institutions and universities. They have also expanded to major research institutions worldwide, including: Indiana University, USA; Murdoch University, Australia; University of Toronto, Canada (section thickness 80μm); Universidad de Granada, Spain; University of Brasília and Federal University of Santa Maria, Brazil (literature from 2017-2019, section thickness 30-50 μm); Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia, Peru (section thickness 50 μm); Centre of Biotechnology of Borj Cedria, Tunisia (section thickness 15 μm), among others. Hundreds of journal articles and papers have been published in both Chinese and English, including over 70 foreign-language publications. Research areas covered in the literature include: physiology, neuroscience/neurochemistry, pharmacology, toxicology, pharmacokinetics, histochemistry/ cytochemistry, ultrastructural enzyme chemistry, histopathological tissue sections, botany (horticultural science, propagation, research, plant pathology), regenerative medicine/tissue engineering, tissue culture, and other fields requiring fresh tissue sections for research.

Vibrating microtomes are particularly suitable for sectioning fresh or agar-fixed animal and plant specimens, eliminating the need for tissue freezing or embedding during sectioning.

• The vibrating microtome is specifically designed for sectioning fresh or fixed animal and plant specimens. During sectioning, tissue samples require neither freezing nor embedding. This method prevents ice crystal damage to the sections while preserving sample viability and maintaining excellent cellular morphology.

• Provides excellent conditions for “immunocytochemical studies” and “neurobiological research on spinal cord and brain sections,” serving as an ideal rapid sectioning instrument for contemporary electron microscopy, anatomy, histology, physiology, hospital, and chemical engineering experimental systems.

• This microtome has been proven through use at institutions including the Shanghai Institute of Physiology and Developmental Biology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Fudan University, and the Second Military Medical University. It can cut fixed brain and spinal cord tissues to a thickness of 10 micrometers, and fresh brain, heart, kidney, and other tissues to 30 micrometers. The sections produced are intact, with smooth surfaces and uniform staining. Brain slices produced by this machine can maintain spontaneous electrical activity for over 12 hours in artificial cerebrospinal fluid. Its primary technical specifications meet the standards of comparable foreign products.

• Vibrating microtomes can section fresh tissue (unfixed, unfrozen) into sections 50–400 μm thick. These sections undergo histochemical or immunohistochemical staining using the floating method within reaction plates. Since the tissue remains unfrozen, no ice crystals form and no tissue antigens are destroyed. Furthermore, steps such as tissue dehydration, clearing, and embedding—which can damage antigens—are avoided prior to staining. Consequently, lipid-soluble substances and cell membrane antigens within the tissue are well preserved.

• Primarily used for studies on the distribution of antigens in the nervous system. For soft embryonic brain tissue, low-melting-point (45–55°C) 10% agarose embedding is employed. Sections are cut into thick slices (100–400 μm) using a vibrating microtome. Immunofluorescent histochemical staining is performed in reaction plates using the floating method, followed by observation under a laser scanning confocal microscope.