Detection of cyanoacrylate tissue adhesives in histological sections

Abstract

Previous histological studies of cyanoacrylate in wound healing have all used Oil-Red-O staining of paraffin sections prepared by routine method. In the course of our studies we began to suspect that artifact was being introduced because of dissolution of cyanoacrylate during processing. Accordingly, biopsis of wounds sealed with cyanoacrylate and pieces of cyanoacrylate of a standard known dimension with no associated tissue were observed after every stage of histological preparation. It was observed that approximately 80% of the cyanoacrylate was lost at the deparaffinization in xylene stage. Accordingly, a number of solvents were tested, and it was found that petroleum ether could be used to remove paraffin completely without the loss of any of the cyanoacrylate from the specimen. This technique has been used to view the location and ultimate fate of cyanoacrylate applied to wounds and examined at different stages in healing process. It is concluded that previous histological studies of cyanoacrylate in wound healing have been inaccurate due to leaching out of most of the tissue adhesive during deparaffinization of the specimen.

Comparison of wound-bursting strengths and surface characteristics of FDA-approved tissue adhesives for skin closure

“…Oil red O and Sudan black stains of frozen sections were used to demonstrate the presence of the cyanoacrylate adhesive [9]. …”

Evaluation of a new liquid occlusive dressing for excisional wounds

“…Trichrome staining was done for collagen and Gram stain was used to confirm bacteria. Oil red stains of frozen sections were done to reveal the presence of the LOD 28 . Immunostaining for fibrin and fibronectin was performed as well as chloroacetate esterase staining (Leder stain) for neutrophils.…”

1-Hexyl n-cyanoacrylate compound (Neucrylate™ AN), a new berry aneurysm treatment. II. Rabbit implant studies: technique and histology

“…Worse, despite our hand processing the specimens and using the described preparation technique,17 18 much of the device dissolved during final mounting, which requires a xylene based plastic. Sadly, the europium fluorescence visualization process described by Calvo et al 22 was not available to us.…”

“…Despite our using the technique described by Galil et al 17 and Lundie et al ,18 a majority of the Neucrylate was either distorted or removed during histologic processing, and only ghosts of the Neucrylate that had been introduced into the aneurysm remained. Artifacts were also introduced by the particulate gold, and by the difficulty in cutting through the cyanoacrylate by even new microtome knives.…”

“…As standard staining procedures, in particular the xylene used in most steps, dissolve cyanoacrylate, the preparation was carried out by hand, according to the process described by Galil and colleagues17 and by Lundie and colleagues 18…”