Formulation of a 70% ethanol fixative that preserves RNAs

What is it about?

A paper in a recent issue of J. Histochem. Cytochem. compared various fixatives for subsequent extraction of nucleic acids from paraffin-embedded specimens. My Letter to the Editor pointed out that the authors did not provide enough information to allow a reader to make up the "buffered ethanol fixative" that they had found to be the "best" mixture. The senior author of the paper responded, providing explicit instructions for making the preferred fixative mixture. My letter and the response should be read together. The practical information is in the response.

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Why is it important?

It should always be possible for a reader to replicate the methods! This is especially important when the journal is one with a long tradition of excellence in a major family of techniques.