Microtechnical Services was founded in 1988 to provide a technical resource to researchers working in a variety of biotechnology settings. These have included universities, medical schools, biotechnology and pharmaceutical research companies.
We accept institutional and commercial purchase requisitions.
At Microtechnical Services, we combine scientific rigour with quality, reliability and care to ensure that your valuable research materials receive the very best attention. We fully understand your projects investment in time, expertise, financial input and discovery effort. We will strive at all times to meet your specific scientific needs in technical histological tissue preparation and staining to your exact requirements.
Microtechnical Services has considerable experience in processing a wide range of both human and animal tissues and organs to achieve clarity in diagnosis, in addition to practical microscopy training and study in University level biomedical courses or medical training.
We have the resources to process the most demanding of tissues in both routine and specialised histological or pathological samples. However, in some cases samples will require considerable additional attention to obtain diagnostic quality sections, resulting in a longer period of processing and treatment.
Available Staining Techniques
Sections for microscopical examination are routinely cut at 4-5 microns and stained with Haematoxylin & Eosin
The following are examples of some of the special stains that we have perform upon request. This list is by no means exhaustive.
If you require a particular method that is not listed, please contact us for a quote.
| Technique | To Demonstrate | Price per section |
| Haematoxylin & Eosin (Harris): Automatic Staining machine | Structural Morphology | £1.50 |
| Acid fast Z.N or Wade- Fite | Micro- organisms | £2.00 |
| Alcian Blue – PAS with or without Diastase | Acid and Nutral Mucins | £3.00 |
| Congo Red | Amyloid | £2.00 |
| Giemsa Stain | Mast Cells, Blood Smears | £2.50 |
| Gomori’s Trichrome (Wheatley) | Faecal Parasites in Smears | £3.00 |
| Gordon & Sweet | Reticulin | £5.00 |
| Gram Stain | Micro- organisms | £2.00 |
| Grocott’s Methenamine Silver | Fungal Stain | £5.00 |
| Masson Trichrome | Collagen, Fibrin, Muscle | £3.50 |
| Millers Elastin Stain | Elastin | £2.50 |
| MSB Stain | Fibrin | £3.00 |
| Periodic Acid Schiff with or without Diastase | Glycogen, Basement Membranes | £3.00 |
| Picro Sirius Red | Collagen | £2.75 |
| Toludine Blue | Mast Cells, Amyloid | £2.50 |
Tissues sent for Processing:
Tissues for histology should be sent fixed in 10% Neutral Buffered Formalin. Other fixatives may be specified by the client, please inform us if this becomes the case. Please ensure a 1:20 ratio of fixative to sample to ensure adequate fixation and to prevent possible sample desiccation during transport. Tissues may be trimmed by the client ready for transfer to a processing cassette or be left untrimmed.
We welcome clients previously embedded tissue cassettes. From these we will cut and stain sections to meet client requirements, or return unstained mounted sections, if required for the client to treat in their own laboratory.
Cytological samples such as aspirates should be sent preserved in a suitable cytological fixative.
Pricing Structure for Processing ‘wet’ tissues/ cell suspensions though to paraffin – and clients embedded tissue cassettes
| To Process up to three tissues in one cassette | £4.50 Per Cassette |
| Microtomy at 4-5 microns & stain 1 section H&E. Following processing or client supplied embedded cassette | £1.50 |
| Unstained mounted sections from the same block | £0.75 |
| Unstained section/s from the same block mounted onto Superfrost Plus slides for IHC | £0.95 |
| Centrifuged Cytological material: Subsequent processing of ‘pellet’ to paraffin, microtomy, mounting and staining of 1 H&E slide | £4.50 |
| Unstained single section mounted on a routine slide | £0.75 |
| Unstained single section mounted on a Superfrost Plus Slide IHC | £0.95 |
| To stain mounted sections sent to us by clients with H&E | £1.00 |
| To stain mounted section stains sent to us by clients for special staining | Cost according to method applied |
Following processing, sectioning, staining and completion of the study, all cassettes containing tissues will be returned to the named originator for archiving within their own facilities.
Discounts apply for mounted sections supplied by clients who just require staining and final coverslipping to be carried out on large quantities of slides. please enquire for final details.
We are set up for processing and handing bulk quantities of slides and processed cassettes. We are aware that tissue blocks can build up in some laboratories due to staff shortages or demands on time for other work to be completed. We can assist laboratories to clear ‘backlogged’ cassette and slide collections for an economical fee.
We will endeavour to be prompt and timely in competing and returning all materials sent to us.
