storing fixed cells - (Mar/13/2008 )

Hi
I am growing cells on coverslips in 24-wells plate and Methanol fix them for immuno staining.
Since I don't need to process them at once I would like to store the unused coverslips.
Would it be better to store them after air drying? under methanol? RT - refrigerator - freezer ?
Thanks
NBA

I store fixed cells at 4`C in 70% ethanol...you just have to make sure that they don't dry out, so I use well-sealing tape

I do this all the time. I just methanol fix, wash a few times to get rid of the methanol and store at 4degrees in PBS. You just have to watch out for them drying out or bacterial growth so check them once a week. I've begun to throw in a bit of ampicillin into the PBS and found that I can save coverslips for months without any issues!

Hey,

I also keep them at 4 degree in PBS. But I prefer to finish the immunofluorescence within one week.

It also depends on which cellular compartment/protein you are looking at. Keeping coverslips longer in PBS might affect the experiment (at least that was what I was told).

we fix cells in formaldehyde and wash 2x with PBS and then finally store it in PBS with 0.02% azide, wrap it and store in 4C.