Persistence of Autofluorescence of parathyroid glands submitted to heat, freeze and formalin

Abstract

Carlos Serra*

Autofluorescence of parathyroid glands is a physical phenomenon of unknown cause that could have clinical impact for intraoperative identification of the glands. Persistence of Autofluorescence after cryopreservation and fixation in formalin was reported by other authors suggesting the robustness of the event. Information about persistence of Autofluorescence after heating, with the consequent protein denaturation is less documented in literature. In this work we analyze the intensity of Autofluorescence of five parathyroid samples submitted to heat, freeze and fixation in formalin. There was no significant difference on the intensity of Autofluorescence of parathyroid glands submitted to neither condition with p-values of 0.82 (heating), 0.075 (freezing) and 0.314 (fixation). Those results exclude the necessity of a chemical reaction as well as the need of the integrity of the secondary and tertiary protein structure for the occurrence of auto luorescence of parathyroid glands. The persistence of Autofluorescence after fixation in formalin facilitates further research in the area, avoiding the need for fresh samples, difficult to obtain and maintain.