Poly Scientific Customer Support

While every reagent assembly kit must be treated individually, there are common points which apply to all. The following items are answers to some commonly asked questions. Of course, if you have any other questions please feel free to take advantage of Poly Scientific’s technical assistance department.

• In general, an 8oz. kit will stain 100 slides and a 16oz. kit will stain 200.
• All timings given are representative and should be adapted to your particular laboratory conditions.
• All silver stains should be performed in acid cleaned glassware for best results.
• Use only deionized or distilled water, unless otherwise directed.
• Most working solutions, once made, should be used immediately.
• All solutions are individually labeled with expiration dates and storage conditions.
• All procedures are written for manual use, but all can and have been, adapted for any automated stainer.

• Tissue should be fixed immediately after removal from the body.
• Tissue should be cut to less than 5 mm in thickness for best results.
• The volume of fixative should be 10-20 times the tissues’.
• Formalin penetrates most tissue at a rate of 0.5mm per hour.
• Heat, agitation and vacuum will all speed up the rate of penetration of formalin.
• Always use high-quality reagents to maximize performance.
• 10% Buffered Formalin should be used for long term tissue storage.

• Tissue should be no larger than 5mm in thickness.
• Always take into account the thickness of your tissue when determining station times.
• Avoid heat during dehydrating and clearing to reduce the possibility of overprocessing.
• The use of vacuum is always encouraged during processing.
• Establish a reagent rotation schedule suited to your lab.
• Always use high-quality reagents to maximize performance.
• A hydrometer is a practical, easy way to determine when to rotate or replace alcohols.
• Use Xylene, not a substitute, in the cleaning cycle.

Raw Materials: Poly Scientific’s products are manufactured according to (cGMP) Current Good Manufacturing Procedure by the FDA. Poly Scientific offers the highest quality products. We can assure you of this because our raw materials are of the utmost superiority. All stains are certified by BSC and our chemicals are ACS or USP grade. Poly Scientific is so confident in our products that we unconditionally guarantee them, providing they are stored properly and are opened within a timely manner.

Packaging: Poly Scientific uses fluorinated bottles. This process makes it safe to package acetone and xylene products in plastic containers without worrying that the container will panel after prolonged contact. Fluorination reduces permeation up to one thousand times. An induction seal eliminates active ingredient loss and helps maintain the stability of the chemicals. An induction seal assures you that you are getting a solution that has never been used. This tamper evident seal also aids in the protection of the solution in the shipping process.

Lot # control: All solutions are made fresh to order and shipped directly to the end user, not to a distributor. This assures you the longest expiration date possible. All products have lot numbers that are computer generated, and go through extensive quality control measures to make sure the product works the way it should. A quality control sheet is generated with each lot. This lot number enables us to track the product so that we can assist our customers immediately with any technical help. The lot number is cross referenced with the customer’s account number.

Safety: Safety is very important at Poly Scientific. We value our employees’ safety as well as our customers’ safety. That is why our Safety Data Sheets are computer generated with each initial order and are routinely reviewed. All labels conform to OSHA rules and regulations. A hazardous communication program has been established and implemented.

Prefilled Containers: All prefilled containers are filled mechanically. This assures you each container has the exact measurement of solution in it. All prefilled containers are filled halfway unless otherwise specified.