Table 1 Effect of zinc fixation on antigen preservation Staining score
Fixation Dehydration MHC II CD11c B220 Mac-1 CD3 CD4 CD8
Acetone +++ +++ +++ +++ – – – Zinc fixative (3 days) Acetone +++ +++ +++ +++ ++ ++ ++ Zinc fixative (3 days) Ethanol +++ +++ +++ +++ ++ ++ ++
Acetone: one bath of 100% acetone for six hours. Ethanol: graded series of 30%, 50%, 70%, 90%, and 100% of ethanol, 30 minutes in each bath. –, Negative; +, weakly positive; ++, positive; +++, strongly positive. MHC, major histocompatibility complex.