Build your own tissue arrays in your laboratory with the MTA-01 Personal Tissue Arrayer

Build your own tissue arrays with the MTA-01 Personal Tissue arrayerThe MTA-01 Personal Tissue arrayer allows construction of tissue array blocks in the laboratory.

The MTA-01 can be easily installed in the Laboratory environment. It does not require any specialist services, has a small footprint and can be stored in a cabinet when not in use.
 
 

Master your experimental plans

Having your own tissue arrayer allows you to define your own format of experimental plans and tissue combinations for each block. You can quickly respond to the needs of the experimental team.

Build up your arrays as tissue becomes available

Having a tissue arrayer allows the progressive construction of tissue array blocks as samples become available.
 

Build replicate tissue array blocks simultaneously

The addition of the carousel to the tissue arrayer allows the parallel construction of four tissue array blocks, thus speeding up production and reducing block handling.
 
 

Producing a tissue array block

The production technique is simple and can be mastered with a little practise.
The principle is to punch a cylindrical hole in a sample free paraffin block named the recipient block. A similar sized core of tissue is removed from a tissue block, called the donor block. This core of tissue is then inserted into the hole in the recipient block. This technique is repeated many times until the block is complete. The completed block is heat treated to fix the cores. It is then sectioned on a microtome and mounted on slides and stained using the normal methods.
 
1 - Select your donor blocks
2 - Setup your tissue array organisation. MTA designer software simplifies this operation (see next section)
3 - Define punching zone on all donor blocks.
Either using the block itself or a stained slide prepared from the block
4 - Set the micrometers to the first position on the recipient block according to your plan.
5- Make the first recipient block hole and discard the paraffin core.
6 - Place the donor block under the donor punch and sample the tissue from the pre-defined zone.
7 - Transfer the tissue core into the hole in the recipient block
8 - Repeat the procedure for all positions on your experimental plan
9 - Once completed gently heat the block to fix the cores
10 - Mount the block in the microtome, cut, mount, stain and analyse your array