McIlwain Tissue Chopper

The McIlwain tissue chopper has been designed to prepare pieces of tissue for metabolic experiments and to be especially applicable to small and irregular specimens available at biopsy or from small organs.

The McIlwain tissue choppers cause much less disturbance of cell structure than using a homogenisers or blender and it can be used on fragments which would be difficult to cut by ordinary methods. Typical applications are to liver, kidney and various parts of the central nervous system.

Slice up to 1mm thick, and cubes and prisms up to 1mm cross section can be prepared with the chopper in 30 seconds. Provision is made for stepless variation of slice thickness from zero to the maximum by means of a micrometer head calibrated in microns.

The action of the tissue chopper is as follows: a circular stainless steel table, on which the specimen is placed, is traversed automatically from left to right of the machine. At the same time a chopping arm carrying a blade is raised and dropped rapidly by an adjustable force. As the table carrying the tissue passes under the blade it is chopped into the required slices. If prisms are required the table is returned to the left hand side of the machine, turned through 45 degrees, and the process repeated. Cubes are formed by rotating the table 90 degrees. The cutting speed can be varied from zero to over 200 strokes per minute. A safety limit switch is provided to prevent the machine overrunning and a quick release mechanism for the return of the table.

• Stepless variation of slice thickness from zero to maximum
• The specimen table is traversed automatically from left to right at a variable speed
• Chopping Arm is raised and dropped at speeds of up to 200 strokes per minute
• Safety limit switch prevents overrunning, and a quick return mechanism is fitted for the return of the table

Select from the McIlwain which uses a standard chopping disc for the sample or the McIlwain-PD which has a modified head to allow the usage of a standard 60 mm petri dish instead of the standard chopping disc.