A Simplified Method of Manually Constructing Small Format Tissue Microarray for Use in Resource-Constrained Settings

Background & Objective: Tissue microarray (TMA) is a method of harvesting small tissue cores from number donor paraffin blocks and arraying them in recipient block. It has numerous advantages applications but expensive. This study aimed to develop simple yet efficient manual, small-format TMA block construction.Methods: Disposable skin punch biopsy needles were used manually core out 4-mm cylinders the archival comprising 60 thyroidectomy specimens. These oriented embedding cassette accordance with grid design. The molten wax was slowly dispensed allowed be set. Sectioning, mounting, hematoxylin eosin (H&E) staining performed by conventional method. Immunohistochemical studies, using HBME-1, CK19, S100 antibodies, also on these array sections.Results: There no loss during processing. Technical issues like tilt floatation easily tackled. Morphological identification, histological typing, immunohistochemical analysis could satisfactorily sections. Donor did not break after punching.Conclusion: construction simple, feasible, reproducible, time-saving. can serve as an excellent cost-effective alternative for resource-poor laboratories carrying studies.