4% PFA with 1% Glutaraldehyde
Cat No.: DCP-PFAGA1X
Size: 500 mL
Non-Sterile, Ultrapure, Filtered 0.1-micron membrane ONCE and 0.04-micron membrane ONCE.
* Product ships typically within 48 hours, but may take up to 1 week during unforeseen events.
Description:
Our 4% Paraformaldehyde (PFA) + 1% Glutaraldehyde (GA) Fixative Solution is a meticulously formulated, ready-to-use reagent designed to balance rapid tissue penetration with superior ultrastructural preservation. Combining the complementary strengths of paraformaldehyde and glutaraldehyde, this dual-aldehyde fixative minimizes artifacts while maintaining antigenicity for diverse histological and cytological applications.
Key Features:
- Optimized Aldehyde Ratio: 4% paraformaldehyde ensures rapid tissue stabilization, while 1% glutaraldehyde provides enhanced protein cross-linking for long-term structural integrity.
- Physiological Compatibility: Prepared in 0.1M phosphate buffer (pH 7.4) to maintain osmotic balance and minimize cellular distortion.
- Methanol-Free: Eliminates membrane permeabilization artifacts associated with methanol-stabilized formalin.
- Pre-Mixed Convenience: Ready-to-use format ensures consistency and reduces preparation time compared to traditional ampoule-based kits.
Applications:
- Electron Microscopy: The 1% glutaraldehyde concentration provides sufficient cross-linking for membrane preservation without excessive hardening, facilitating easier sectioning post-osmium tetroxide staining.
- Fluorescence Imaging: Compatible with fluorescent proteins like hyperfolder YFP (hfYFP), retaining ≈70% initial fluorescence intensity compared to methanol-free 4% PFA alone.
- Developmental Biology: Validated for embryonic tissue fixation, showing 23% less craniofacial distortion versus Karnovsky’s original 5% glutaraldehyde formula
Advantages:
Structural Preservation:
The 1% glutaraldehyde concentration strikes an ideal balance, reducing the hypertonicity (≈1200 mOsm) and shrinkage artifacts associated with higher GA concentrations while still stabilizing mitochondrial networks and membrane structures. Paraformaldehyde’s rapid penetration (1–2 mm/hour) initiates fixation within minutes, followed by glutaraldehyde’s gradual long-range cross-linking to preserve spatial relationships between organelles.
Antigen Compatibility:
Lower glutaraldehyde content preserves epitope accessibility, enabling reliable immunohistochemistry (IHC) and immunofluorescence (IF) without extensive antigen retrieval steps. Studies demonstrate retained fluorescence for mitochondrial markers like MitoTracker Red after fixation.
Composition:
| Ingredients |
Concentration |
| PFA |
4% |
| Glutaraldehyde |
1% |
| Phosphate Buffer |
0.1M |
Usage Instructions:
-
Fixation Protocol:
-
Safety Handling:
Quality Control:
- Appearance: Clear solution
- pH: 7.4
- Sterility: Non-Sterile; Filtered 0.1 micron once and 0.04 micron once.
Storage and Shelf Life:
- Store at 4°C away from bright light (amber).
- Shelf life is 6 months.
- Use before expiry date given on the product label.
CUSTOMIZATION: Please INQUIRE if other concentrations, additions of chemicals/compounds/proteins/supplements, different pH, and modifications are needed.
* This product is manufactured under ISO 13485-certified and CE-approved facilities (Suppliers of DiagnoCine Precision). All final packaging, quality assurance, and testing are done at the DiagnoCine R&D and Quality Testing Center. All specific customization requests and assembly were accomplished at DiagnoCine Precision in Totowa, New Jersey, USA.
