Suspension of Rat Myocardium In Agarose Gel
School Name
South Carolina Governor's School for Science & Mathematics
Grade Level
12th Grade
Presentation Topic
Cell and Molecular Biology
Presentation Type
Mentored
Abstract
Heart disease affects over 610,000 people every year in the US and is the leading form of death in both men and women. Observing live myocardial tissue has many uses but is difficult due to the short time scale available and the ability to section flexible heart tissue. Myocardium is usually chemically crosslinked or dehydrated in order to make the process of retrieving thin 100 micron slices easier. However, due to the crosslinking or dehydration process, the myocardium will change mechanically and confound live tissue testing. Agarose gel is a useful alternative for cell suspension because it undergoes mild gelation through the formation of extensive intermolecular hydrogen bonds resulting in double-helical structures that aggregate into thick bundles (Xiong et al., 2005). When observing the setting of the gel we measured the data qualitatively in various different locations during various periods of time. We found that the best results were achieved after letting the gel set in the hood, incubator, and freezer. Once the procedure has been fully optimized we will use this method to replace conventional methods such as cross-linking and dehydration. When putting the procedure into practice, the best option for the setting of the gel incubator because it will provide a similar environment to the live myocardium's natural state, as well as optimizing the time between extraction and testing. We plan on using this setting method in all future lab work that requires a similar setup.
Recommended Citation
Floyd, Breosche and Kongchainamsakul, Piyaruk, "Suspension of Rat Myocardium In Agarose Gel" (2020). South Carolina Junior Academy of Science. 84.
https://scholarexchange.furman.edu/scjas/2020/all/84
Location
Furman Hall 107
Start Date
3-28-2020 9:30 AM
Presentation Format
Oral Only
Group Project
Yes
Suspension of Rat Myocardium In Agarose Gel
Furman Hall 107
Heart disease affects over 610,000 people every year in the US and is the leading form of death in both men and women. Observing live myocardial tissue has many uses but is difficult due to the short time scale available and the ability to section flexible heart tissue. Myocardium is usually chemically crosslinked or dehydrated in order to make the process of retrieving thin 100 micron slices easier. However, due to the crosslinking or dehydration process, the myocardium will change mechanically and confound live tissue testing. Agarose gel is a useful alternative for cell suspension because it undergoes mild gelation through the formation of extensive intermolecular hydrogen bonds resulting in double-helical structures that aggregate into thick bundles (Xiong et al., 2005). When observing the setting of the gel we measured the data qualitatively in various different locations during various periods of time. We found that the best results were achieved after letting the gel set in the hood, incubator, and freezer. Once the procedure has been fully optimized we will use this method to replace conventional methods such as cross-linking and dehydration. When putting the procedure into practice, the best option for the setting of the gel incubator because it will provide a similar environment to the live myocardium's natural state, as well as optimizing the time between extraction and testing. We plan on using this setting method in all future lab work that requires a similar setup.
