A vibratome is an instrument that is similar to a microtome

Microtome

A microtome is a sectioning instrument that allows for the cutting of extremely thin slices of material, known as sections. Microtomes are an important device in microscopy preparation, allowing for the preparation of samples for observation under transmitted light or electron radiation...

 but uses a vibrating razor blade to cut through tissue

Tissue (biology)

Tissue is a cellular organizational level intermediate between cells and a complete organism. A tissue is an ensemble of cells, not necessarily identical, but from the same origin, that together carry out a specific function. These are called tissues because of their identical functioning...

. The vibration amplitude

Amplitude

Amplitude is the magnitude of change in the oscillating variable with each oscillation within an oscillating system. For example, sound waves in air are oscillations in atmospheric pressure and their amplitudes are proportional to the change in pressure during one oscillation...

, the speed, and the angle of the blade can all be controlled. Fixed or fresh tissue pieces are embedded in low gelling temperature agarose.(Some have had success without using the agarose to embed.) The resulting agarose block containing the tissue piece is then glued to a metal block and sectioned while submerged in a water or buffer bath. Individual sections are then collected with a fine brush and transferred to slides or multiwell plates for staining.

Advantages of Vibratome Sectioning

• No need to dehydrate tissues prior to embedding, thus decreased loss of cell constituents

• No messy paraffin
  Paraffin
  In chemistry, paraffin is a term that can be used synonymously with "alkane", indicating hydrocarbons with the general formula CnH2n+2. Paraffin wax refers to a mixture of alkanes that falls within the 20 ≤ n ≤ 40 range; they are found in the solid state at room temperature and begin to enter the...
  
  embedding

• No need to deparaffinise and rehydrate sections prior to immunostaining

• No high temperatures or harsh chemical treatments that may lead to antigen instability

• No special microtome blades required

• Less chance of artifacts caused by parrafin embedding or freezing

• Increased tissue autofluoresecence due to paraffin embedding being avoided

• Less wait period from tissue sampling to time of immunolabelling

Possible Disadvantages of Vibratome Sectioning

• Instead of ribbons, single sections are cut and collected which are more delicate and difficult to handle.

• Sections are generally thicker than those obtained with paraffin methods; penetration of antibodies and other reagents may be slower and thus longer incubation times may be necessary. Also, thick sections may be difficult to image with the microscope. (However, thick sections are compatible and sometimes even desirable if using confocal microscopy.)

• Securing vibratome sections to glass slides can be difficult or impossible, due to the thickness of the sections.