Development of a Sheet Plastination Protocol with Polyester Resin Applied to Human Brain Slices

Marco Guerrero; Claudia Vargas; Eduardo Alarcón; Mariano, del Sol; Nicolás Ernesto Ottone

Keywords: Resina poliéster, Polyester resin, Sheet plastination, Plastinación de cortes

Abstract

Plastination is an anatomical technique of cadaveric conservation created in 1977 by Gunther von Hagens, in Heidelberg, Germany, and that substitutes biological and / or fixation fluids with acetone, to then impregnate the samples with different resins, depending on the developed plastination technique, to finally carry out the polymerization of the components incorporated into the samples, to obtain dry and totally durable biological samples. The aim of this work was to develop a sheet plastination protocol with polyester resin (Biodur (R) P40) in 3 mm thick slices of human brain. The samples were fixed and preserved with 10 % formalin. The brains were sectioned with a slice cut machine, obtaining thin sheets of 3 mm thick. Immediately the slices of brain were placed in dehydration in 100 % acetone, at -25 degrees C, for 7 days the first acetone bath, and for another 3 more days, for the second acetone bath. Once the cuts were dehydrated, they were placed in Biodur (R) P40 polyester resin and the forced impregnation was carried out in a vacuum chamber at room temperature (20 degrees C). Once the forced impregnation was finished, the curing stage was carried out, which first consists in the assembly of the curing chambers within which the slices with polyester resin were placed. The curing chambers were placed under UV light to accelerate the polymerization of the polyester and finished the plastination process. A sheet plastination protocol with polyester resin was successfully developed in the Laboratory of Plastination and Anatomical Techniques of Universidad de La Frontera, obtaining excellent conservation of brain slices, with differentiation of gray and white substances, and conservation of all morphological characteristics.

Más información

Título según WOS: Development of a Sheet Plastination Protocol with Polyester Resin Applied to Human Brain Slices
Título según SCOPUS: Development of a sheet plastination protocol with polyester resin applied to human brain slices [Desarrollo de un protocolo de plastinación de cortes con resina poliéster aplicado a secciones de cerebro humano]
Título según SCIELO: Desarrollo de un Protocolo de Plastinación de Cortes con Resina Poliéster Aplicado a Secciones de Cerebro Humano
Título de la Revista: International Journal of Morphology
Volumen: 37
Número: 4
Editorial: Sociedad Chilena de Anatomía
Fecha de publicación: 2019
Página de inicio: 1557
Página final: 1563
Idioma: Spanish
DOI:

10.4067/S0717-95022019000401557

Notas: ISI, SCIELO, SCOPUS