FFPE tissue shows no staining from incomplete deparaffinization

Symptom

Paraffin-embedded tissue sections show no immunostaining. Residual paraffin creates a physical barrier preventing antibody access to tissue antigens.

1. 1 Insufficient deparaffinization time leaving paraffin residue in tissue
2. 2 Old or degraded xylene with reduced solvent effectiveness
3. 3 Incomplete paraffin removal blocking antibody penetration into tissue sections

1. 1 Deparaffinize sections for longer duration
2. 2 Use fresh xylene for optimal paraffin removal
3. 3 Perform additional xylene incubation steps (3 changes of 5 min each)
4. 4 Verify complete deparaffinization by checking tissue appearance before proceeding

Related Video (3)

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"Paraffin section IHC workflow demonstration directly relevant to preventing incomplete deparaffinization failures."