Microwave-assisted heating and processing techniques

1. Apparatus comprising:

a specimen vessel holding at least one biological tissue sample;

a histological agent in the specimen vessel so as to come into contact with the tissue sample; and

a microwave susceptor in, near, or integral to the specimen vessel, the microwave susceptor comprising a susceptor material configured and positioned in relation to the biological tissue sample so as to both absorb and attenuate given microwave field energy at a solid portion of the susceptor material as a result of the given microwave field energy passing through the solid portion of the susceptor material itself, an exiting and non-absorbed portion of the attenuated given microwave field energy having passed through the solid portion of the susceptor material itself acting on a target in the specimen vessel when the specimen vessel is placed within a reaction chamber of a microwave unit, wherein the susceptor material is further configured to convert the absorbed microwave field energy into heat, thereby causing the solid portion to increase in temperature and thereby causing other substances in the vessel to heat up.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the histological agent includes one of a fixing agent, a dehydrating agent, a clearing agent, an embedding agent, a de-embedding agent, and a staining agent.

3. The apparatus according to claim 2 , further comprising the microwave unit including the reaction chamber, and further comprising a processing station in the reaction chamber of the microwave unit.

4. The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the vessel includes at least one of a container, a plate, an open fluid holder, a closed fluid holder, and a conduit.

5. The apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising the microwave unit including the reaction chamber.

6. The apparatus according to claim 5 , further comprising a processing station in the reaction chamber of the microwave unit.

7. The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the histological agent includes an embedding agent.

8. The apparatus according to claim 6 , wherein the histological agent includes paraffin.

9. The apparatus according to claim 6 , wherein the susceptor material comprises metal capable of absorbing at least one of an electric and a magnetic portion of microwave field energy produced in the microwave chamber to convert that energy to heat.

10. The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the susceptor material includes metal, and wherein the metal includes metal flakes each having a face and a thickness, and each having an aspect ratio of at least about ten (10), where the aspect ratio for a given metal flake is defined as a ratio of a largest dimension of the face of the given metal flake to the thickness of the metal flake.

11. The apparatus according to claim 10 , wherein the metal flakes include aluminum and have an aspect ratio of ten to three hundred, and wherein each flake has a largest face dimension of 1 to 48 micrometers and a thickness of 0.1 to 0.5 micrometers.

12. The apparatus according to claim 9 , wherein the susceptor material includes a metal layer applied to a substrate.

13. The apparatus according to claim 12 , wherein the metal layer is coated with a protective polyester layer.

14. The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the microwave susceptor is in direct or indirect contact with the histological agent in the specimen vessel.

15. The apparatus according to claim 6 , wherein the microwave susceptor is in direct or indirect contact with the histological agent in the specimen vessel.

16. The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the microwave susceptor is embedded within a structure of the specimen vessel.

17. The apparatus according to claim 6 , wherein the microwave susceptor structure is embedded within a structure of the specimen vessel.

18. The apparatus according to claim 6 , further comprising a programmable control mechanism, a substance transfer mechanism, and another treatment mechanism, the programmable control mechanism being programmed to automatically process tissue, including acts of fixation, dehydration, clearing, and infiltration, all in the process station in the reaction chamber, without the need to move or remove the specimen vessel during or in between the fixation, dehydration, clearing, and infiltration acts.

19. The apparatus according to claim 18 , wherein the programmable control mechanism includes a microprocessor.

20. A method for heating materials, the method comprising:

providing one or more histological agents in a vessel, all of the one or more histological agents in the vessel consisting essentially of a non-polar histological substance or non-polar histological substances;

providing the vessel in a microwave chamber;

providing a microwave susceptor in, near, or integral to the vessel, the microwave susceptor comprising a susceptor material configured and positioned in relation to the non-polar histological agent so as to both absorb and attenuate given microwave field energy at a solid portion of the susceptor material as a result of the given microwave field energy passing through the solid portion of the susceptor material itself, an exiting and non-absorbed portion of the attenuated given microwave field energy having passed through the solid portion of the susceptor material itself acting on a target when the specimen vessel is placed within a reaction chamber of a microwave unit, wherein the susceptor material is further configured to convert the absorbed microwave field energy into heat, thereby causing the solid portion to increase in temperature and thereby causing other substances in the vessel to heat up; and

heating the target by applying microwave energy to the microwave chamber while the microwave susceptor, the vessel, and the non-polar histological agent are in the microwave chamber.

21. The method according to claim 20 , wherein the one or more non-polar histological agents include a non-polar embedding agent.

22. The apparatus according to claim 21 , wherein the non-polar embedding agent includes a material including paraffin.

23. The apparatus according to claim 20 , wherein the one or more non-polar histological agents include a non-polar clearing agent.

24. The apparatus according to claim 23 , wherein the non-polar clearing agent includes isoparaffinics.

25. The apparatus according to claim 20 , wherein the vessel includes at least one of a container, a plate, an open fluid holder, a closed fluid holder, and a conduit.

26. The method according to claim 20 , wherein the susceptor material includes metal, and wherein the metal includes metal flakes each having a face and a thickness, and each having an aspect ratio of at least ten (10), where the aspect ratio for a given metal flake is defined as a ratio of a largest face dimension of the face of the given metal flake to the thickness of the metal flake.

27. The method according to claim 26 , wherein the metal flakes include aluminum and each has a largest face dimension of 1 to 48 micrometers and a thickness of 0.1 to 0.5 micrometers.

28. The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the target upon which the microwave field energy acts is specimen tissue.

29. The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the target upon which the microwave field energy acts is paraffin.

30. The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the target upon which the microwave field energy acts is a non-polar histological agent.

31. The apparatus according to claim 20 , wherein the target upon which the microwave field energy acts is specimen tissue.

32. The apparatus according to claim 20 , wherein the target upon which the microwave field energy acts is paraffin.

33. The apparatus according to claim 20 , wherein the target upon which the microwave field energy acts is a non-polar histological agent.