Plastination of macroparasites: An eco-friendly method of long-term preservation

Abstract

Aim: Preservation of macroparasites by infiltrating the polymer in the tissues can defy the inherited shortcoming of classical wet preservation method. Materials and Methods: Preservation was done by infiltrating the melamine alone or with xylene (MX)/chloroform (MC)/turpentine oil (MT) in 1:1 and hardener (MH) in 9:1 ratio in the tissues of the gross specimen of the animal parasites. Results: The plastinated models withstand the process of microbial decomposition, and remain intact in the environmental conditions. The polymer mixture resists the entry of the water molecule, and model dried just after taking out it from the water tank. Overall, the plastinated parasites were dry, non-sticky, glossy, odorless, chemical free, and harmless, to some extent flexible, with detectable morphological structure, and retain their natural form but lost their natural color. Full marks were assigned to the degree of dryness, non-stickiness, and odorlessness to the model plastinated in different solutions on a five-point scale. For flexibility, the score was 1.2, 2.2, and 2.4 for the plastinated model in melamine/MH, MX/MC, and MT solutions, respectively. The average score of glossiness was 4.6 and 5 for the specimen plastinated in melamine/MH and MX/MC/MT solutions, respectively. The degree of dryness, glossiness, stickiness, and flexibility varies non-significantly, with the polymer mixtures used. Conclusion: The prepared model can be used to educate the students/general mass population.

Keywords

• macroparasites
• melamine
• plastination
• preservation