[Nhcoll-l] Formaldehyde and bone preservation

[Dirk Neumann]

Dear David,

because of the low pH formaldehyde decalcifies the the bones and can 
make (tiny) bones brittle. Also, because of the covalent bonding inside 
tissues, enzymatic degradation of tissues is hindered. Unbound formalin 
escaping during maceration from specimens could cause formaldehyde gas 
to get trapped under the lid of the maceration tank and might cause 
health issues when opening the tank.

I am also not sure if "short" fixation would result in sufficient 
penetration into tissues, so you would need to expose the bodied for 
sufficient long time (depending on the size and amount of tissue)

This would be the immediate concerns that jump into my mind, but there 
might be more.

Hope this helps
Dirk


Am 26.05.2017 um 03:45 schrieb David Katz:
> Hi everyone,
>
> We will have a number of medium bodied primate carcasses that we plan 
> to macerate in order to preserve the skeletons. We've been told that 
> fixing with formaldehyde prior to maceration can negatively affect the 
> bones.
>
> What are the consequences? Is this an issue for both short and long 
> duration fixation, or just long? Thanks very much.
>
> David
>
> -- 
> David C. Katz, Ph.D.
> Postdoctoral Fellow
> Benedikt Hallgrimsson Lab
> University of Calgary
>
> Research Associate
> Department of Anthropology
> University of California, Davis
>
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-- 
Dirk Neumann

Tel: 089 / 8107-111
Fax: 089 / 8107-300
email: Dirk.Neumann(a)zsm.mwn.de

Postanschrift:

Staatliche Naturwissenschaftliche Sammlungen Bayerns
Zoologische Staatssammlung München
Dirk Neumann, Sektion Ichthyologie / DNA-Storage
Münchhausenstr. 21
81247 München

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---------

Dirk Neumann

Tel: +49-89-8107-111
Fax: +49-89-8107-300
email: Dirk.Neumann(a)zsm.mwn.de

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Bavarian Natural History Collections
The Bavarian State Collection of Zoology
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