scholarly journals ULTRATHIN FROZEN SECTIONS

1967 ◽  
Vol 34 (3) ◽  
pp. 757-771 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. Bernhard ◽  
Elizabeth H. Leduc
Keyword(s):  
Electron Microscopy ◽  
Room Temperature ◽  
Osmium Tetroxide ◽  
Phosphotungstic Acid ◽  
Cultured Cells ◽  
Uranyl Acetate ◽  
Distilled Water ◽  
Frozen Sections ◽  
Simple Method ◽  
Ultrathin Frozen Sections

A relatively simple method for obtaining ultrathin, frozen sections for electron microscopy has been developed. Tissues, cultured cells, and bacteria may be employed. They are fixed in 1.25–4% glutaraldehyde for 1–4 hr, are washed overnight in buffer at 3°C, and are embedded in 20% thiolated gelatin or pure gelatin. Before sectioning they are partially dehydrated in 50% glycerol, frozen in liquid nitrogen on a modified tissue holder, and subsequently maintained at -70°C with dry ice. Finally, they are sectioned very rapidly with glass knives on a slightly modified Porter-Blum MT-1 microtome in a commercial deep-freeze maintained at -35°C and are floated in the trough of the knife on a 40% solution of dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO). The sections are picked up in plastic loops and transferred to distilled water at room temperature for thawing and removal of the DMSO, placed on grids coated with Formvar and carbon, air-dried, and stained with phosphotungstic acid, sodium silicotungstate, or a triple stain of osmium tetroxide, uranyl acetate, and lead. Large flat sections are obtained in which ultrastructural preservation is good. They are particularly useful for cytochemical studies.

Electron Microscopy of Wound Healing in Patients with Hernia

1975 ◽  
Vol 33 ◽  
pp. 352-353
Author(s):  
C.N. Sun ◽  
H.J. White ◽  
R.C. Read
Keyword(s):  
Electron Microscopy ◽  
Wound Healing ◽  
Phosphate Buffer ◽  
Osmium Tetroxide ◽  
Phosphotungstic Acid ◽  
Rectus Sheath ◽  
Uranyl Acetate ◽  
Collagen Fibrils ◽  
Lead Citrate ◽  
Native Collagen

Previously we have reported the defect of collagen fibrils from herniated rectus sheath. This presentation includes additional sections from postsurgical incisions (10 days) from both control and hernia patients. Small pieces of rectus sheath were fixed in 3% glutaraldehyde in phosphate buffer (pH 7.2) and post fixed with buffered 2% osmium tetroxide. The tissues were then dehydrated in serially increasing concentrations of alcohol and embedded in Epon 812. Sections were stained with 2.5% phosphotungstic acid or uranyl acetate and lead citrate.Previously we found that collagen fibrils from "non-herniated" rectus sheath have uniform diameters and 640 Å periodicity with seven or more intraperiodic bands resembling typical native collagen fibrils, while the fibrils from fascia obtained from patients with direct herniation show considerable variation in diameter. These variations are often found in the same individual fibers with a range from 300 Å to 3000 Å.

Uranyl Acetate Preservation of Nucleoplasm in the Sporocytes of Psilotum

1981 ◽  
Vol 39 ◽  
pp. 650-651
Author(s):  
Kit W. Lee
Keyword(s):  
Propylene Oxide ◽  
Room Temperature ◽  
Osmium Tetroxide ◽  
Developmental Stages ◽  
Uranyl Acetate ◽  
Distilled Water ◽  
Nuclear Region ◽  
Membrane Systems ◽  
Thin Sections ◽  
High Affinity

As a stain, uranyl acetate (UA) is used on thin sections to enhance the contrast of cellular constituents. It has been shown that the use of uranyl acetate in the fixation process can increase the contrast and preservation of various membrane systems by reducing the extraction of phospholipids during dehydration. Because of its high affinity for nucleic acids, uranyl acetate has also been used as a post fixative to preserve the nuclear region of prokaryotes. This paper compares the nuclei of the eukaryote Psilotum, particularly during meiosis, with and without post fixation with uranyl acetate.Sporangia at different developmental stages were fixed in cold 3% glutaral-dehyde (GA) in 0.1 M phosphate buffer (pH 7.2) for 4 hours or overnight, and post fixed at room temperature with 2% osmium tetroxide (OsO4) for 2 hours. After washing in distilled water, samples were either (a) dehydrated in a graded series of ethanols and propylene oxide, or (b) placed in 1% aqueous uranyl acetate for 1 hour, followed by 30 minutes washing in distilled water before dehydration.

Ultrathin frozen sections for Electron Microscopy: Some personal recollections

1992 ◽  
Vol 50 (2) ◽  
pp. 1080-1081
Author(s):  
A. Kent Christensen
Keyword(s):  
Electron Microscopy ◽  
Dimethyl Sulfoxide ◽  
Cell Biology ◽  
Steroid Hormone ◽  
Uranyl Acetate ◽  
Frozen Sections ◽  
Fixed Tissue ◽  
Hormone Synthesis ◽  
Ultrathin Frozen Sections

In the mid-1960s, while on the faculty of the Anatomy Department at Stanford, I was particularly interested in the cell biology of steroid-secreting cells. I had studied the ultrastructure of these cells, and was anxious to trace the pathways of steroid hormone synthesis and of the secretion from the cell. An invitation to speak at an international steroid congress in Milan, Italy, in May 1966, afforded me an opportunity to travel in Europe before the meeting started. During that trip I had a very enjoyable visit with Dr. Wilhelm Bernhard, in the Paris suburb Villejuif. He had developed means of cutting ultrathin frozen sections (UFS) of fixed tissue on a Sorvall MT-1 ultramicrotome maintained in a freezer at about −35°C. As the sections were cut, they floated off on a solution of dimethyl sulfoxide and water, from which they were picked up on EM grids, treated for cytochemistry, stained with uranyl acetate, and then viewed by EM.

En bloc staining available for stereoscopic observation of epoxy resin Quetol 651-embedded thick sections under a 300 kV TEM

1990 ◽  
Vol 48 (3) ◽  
pp. 740-741
Author(s):  
Tsuyuka Kushida ◽  
Haruyuki Iijima ◽  
Hiroshi Kushida ◽  
Chusei Tsuruta
Keyword(s):  
Epoxy Resin ◽  
Room Temperature ◽  
Osmium Tetroxide ◽  
Uranyl Acetate ◽  
List Type ◽  
Distilled Water ◽  
Thick Section ◽  
En Bloc ◽  
Fixed Tissue ◽  
Stereoscopic Observation

A staining method has been devised for easy en bloc staining for stereoscopic observation of epoxy resin Quetol 651-embedded thick sections under a 300 kV transmission microscope (TEM). In order to enhance staining properties in thick section, osmium tetroxide-fixed tissue blocks are stained only en bloc, since the images of both sides in thick section give high contrast and the image of an intermediate layer shows low contrast by double staining.This method uses carbohydrazide (Polysciences, Inc., U.S.A.) as osmium bridging agent, and both osmium tetroxide and uranyl acetate as electron staining agents.The following procedure is suitable for en bloc staining. 1.Fix small tissue blocks in 2% cacodylate-buffered osmium tetroxide (pH 7.4) for 3 hours at 4°C.2.Wash well in buffer for 1 hour.3.Transfer in 1% aqueous carbohydrazide for 2 hours at room temperature.4.Wash well in distilled water for 1 hour.5.Stain in 1% aqueous osmium tetroxide for 2 hours at room temperature.6.Wash well in distilled water for 1 hour.7.Dehydrate in 50% alcohol for 1 hour.8.Stain in a 2.5% solution of uranyl acetate in 50% alcohol for 3 hours at room temperature.9.Wash in 50% alcohol for 1 hour.10.Dehydrate with 60%, 70%, 80%, 90% and 100% (2 changes) alcohols for 30 minutes each.11.Embed in a mixture of Quetol 651 (Nissin EM Co., Ltd., Japan), nonenyl succinic anhydride, methyl nadic anhydride and DMP-30 according to the method of Kushida et al.

scholarly journals Block-staining tissues with potassium ferrocyanide-reduced osmium tetroxide and lead aspartate for electron microscopic radioautography.

1984 ◽  
Vol 32 (5) ◽  
pp. 552-554 ◽  
Author(s):  
B M Kopriwa
Keyword(s):  
Room Temperature ◽  
Osmium Tetroxide ◽  
Uranyl Acetate ◽  
Potassium Ferrocyanide ◽  
Electron Microscopic ◽  
En Bloc ◽  
Simple Method ◽  
Electron Microscopic Radioautography

In the hope of devising a method for prestaining tissues en bloc for electron microscopic radioautography, pieces of radioiodine-labeled liver were taken through various combinations of ferrocyanide-reduced osmium tetroxide, lead aspartate, and aqueous uranyl acetate at room temperature or at 60 degrees C. Following the tests, the method adopted for routine use was to block-stain tissues for 2 hr in potassium ferrocyanide-reduced osmium tetroxide at 4 degrees C followed by 1 hr in Walton's lead aspartate at room temperature. This simple method, which requires no manipulation before or after emulsion coating and development of the radioautographs, provides adequate contrast without inducing background fog or artifacts.

Scanning Electron Microscopy-cuticular Lesions on the Roundworm Ascaris Suum

1970 ◽  
Vol 28 ◽  
pp. 114-115
Author(s):  
P. A. Madden ◽  
W. R. Anderson
Keyword(s):  
Electron Microscopy ◽  
Scanning Electron Microscopy ◽  
Freeze Drying ◽  
Room Temperature ◽  
Secondary Electron ◽  
Distilled Water ◽  
Freeze Dried ◽  
Silver Paint ◽  
To Come ◽  
Scanning Electron

The intestinal roundworm of swine is pinkish in color and about the diameter of a lead pencil. Adult worms, taken from parasitized swine, frequently were observed with macroscopic lesions on their cuticule. Those possessing such lesions were rinsed in distilled water, and cylindrical segments of the affected areas were removed. Some of the segments were fixed in buffered formalin before freeze-drying; others were freeze-dried immediately. Initially, specimens were quenched in liquid freon followed by immersion in liquid nitrogen. They were then placed in ampuoles in a freezer at −45C and sublimated by vacuum until dry. After the specimens appeared dry, the freezer was allowed to come to room temperature slowly while the vacuum was maintained. The dried specimens were attached to metal pegs with conductive silver paint and placed in a vacuum evaporator on a rotating tilting stage. They were then coated by evaporating an alloy of 20% palladium and 80% gold to a thickness of approximately 300 A°. The specimens were examined by secondary electron emmission in a scanning electron microscope.

Reconstruction of Two-Dimensional Projections of GP 32*I

1981 ◽  
Vol 39 ◽  
pp. 38-39
Author(s):  
H.A. Cohen ◽  
W. Chiu ◽  
J. Hosoda
Keyword(s):  
Electron Microscopy ◽  
Molecular Weight ◽  
Uranyl Acetate ◽  
Distilled Water ◽  
Acetate Solution ◽  
Two Dimensional ◽  
Parent Molecule ◽  
T4 Bacteriophage ◽  
Electron Imaging ◽  
Better Than

GP 32 (molecular weight 35000) is a T4 bacteriophage protein that destabilizes the DNA helix. The fragment GP32*I (77% of the total weight), which destabilizes helices better than does the parent molecule, crystallizes as platelets thin enough for electron diffraction and electron imaging. In this paper we discuss the structure of this protein as revealed in images reconstructed from stained and unstained crystals.Crystals were prepared as previously described. Crystals for electron microscopy were pelleted from the buffer suspension, washed in distilled water, and resuspended in 1% glucose. Two lambda droplets were placed on grids over freshly evaporated carbon, allowed to sit for five minutes, and then were drained. Stained crystals were prepared the same way, except that prior to draining the droplet, two lambda of aqueous 1% uranyl acetate solution were applied for 20 seconds. Micrographs were produced using less than 2 e/Å2 for unstained crystals or less than 8 e/Å2 for stained crystals.

Observations of thick and thin sections in a field-emission SEM

1994 ◽  
Vol 52 ◽  
pp. 1018-1019
Author(s):  
W. P. Wergin ◽  
S. Roy ◽  
E. F. Erbe ◽  
C. A. Murphy ◽  
C. D. Pooley
Keyword(s):  
Electron Microscope ◽  
Field Emission ◽  
Room Temperature ◽  
Osmium Tetroxide ◽  
Uranyl Acetate ◽  
Chemical Fixation ◽  
Thin Sections ◽  
Transmission Electron ◽  
Conventional Transmission Electron Microscope ◽  
Scanning Electron

Larvae of the nematode, Steinernema carpocapsae Weiser strain All, were cryofixed and freezesubstituted for 3 days in acetone containing 2% osmium tetroxide according to established procedures. Following chemical fixation, the nematodes were brought to room temperature, embedded in Spurr's medium and sectioned for observation with a Hitachi S-4100 field emission scanning electron microscope that was equipped with an Oxford CT 1500 Cryotrans System. Thin sections, about 80 nm thick, similar to those generally used in conventional transmission electron microscope (TEM) studies were mounted on copper grids and stained with uranyl acetate for 30 min and lead citrate for 5 min. Sections about 2 μm thick were also mounted and stained in a similar fashion. The grids were mounted on an Oxford grid holder, inserted into the microscope and onto a cryostage that was operated at ambient temperature. Thick and thin sections of the larvae were evaluated and photographed in the SEM at different accelerating voltages. Figs. 4 and 5 have undergone contrast conversion so that the images would resemble transmitted electron micrographs obtained with a TEM.

Identification of the pulmonary syndrome hantavirus by direct and colloidal gold immune Electron Microscopy

1994 ◽  
Vol 52 ◽  
pp. 274-275
Author(s):  
C. D. Humphrey ◽  
C.S. Goldsmith ◽  
L. Elliott ◽  
S.R. Zaki
Keyword(s):  
Electron Microscopy ◽  
United States ◽  
Monoclonal Antibody ◽  
Colloidal Gold ◽  
Phosphotungstic Acid ◽  
Uranyl Acetate ◽  
Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome ◽  
Deer Mice ◽  
Immune Electron Microscopy ◽  
Negative Stain

An outbreak of unexplained acute pulmonary syndrome with high fatality was recognized in the spring of 1993 in the southwestern United States. The cause of the illness was quickly identified serologically and genetically as a hantavirus and the disease was named hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS). Recently, the virus was isolated from deer mice which had been trapped near the homes of HPS patients, and cultivated in Vero E6 cells. We identified the cultivated virus by negative-stain direct and colloidal gold immune electron microscopy (EM).Virus was extracted, clarified, and concentrated from unfixed and 0.25% glutaraldehyde fixed supernatant fluids of infected Vero E6 cells by a procedure described previously. Concentrated virus suspensions tested by direct EM were applied to glow-discharge treated formvar-carbon filmed grids, blotted, and stained with 0.5% uranyl acetate (UA) or with 2% phosphotungstic acid (PTA) pH 6.5. Virus suspensions for immune colloidal gold identification were adsorbed similarly to filmed grids but incubated for 1 hr on drops of 1:50 diluted monoclonal antibody to Prospect Hill virus nucleoprotein or with 1:50 diluted sera from HPS virus infected deer mice.

A combined pseudoreplica-immunocytochemical technique for research and diagnostic virology

1990 ◽  
Vol 48 (3) ◽  
pp. 900-901
Author(s):  
Blayne Fritz ◽  
Stanley J. Naides ◽  
Kenneth Moore
Keyword(s):  
Phosphotungstic Acid ◽  
Immunogold Labelling ◽  
Uranyl Acetate ◽  
Distilled Water ◽  
Clinical Specimens ◽  
Tissue Sections ◽  
Specimen Retrieval ◽  
Transmission Electron ◽  
Viral Particles ◽  
Diagnostic Virology

The pseudoreplica method of staining viral particles for visualization by transmission electron microscopy is a very popular technique. The ability to concentrate clinical specimens while semi-embedding viral particles makes it especially well suited for morphologic and diagnostic virology. Immunolabelling viral particles with colloidal gold is a technique frequently employed by both research and diagnostic virologists. We have characterized a procedure which provides the advantage of both by modifying and combining pseudoreplica staining and immunogold labelling.Modification of specimen retrieval and delay of staining allows us to utilize pseudoreplica processed specimens within our standard immunogold labelling protocol. In brief, we absorbed samples onto 2% agarose, added.25% Formvar and wicked dry. We then floated the Formvar-virus film onto double distilled water, added grids and retrieved with parafilm. The Formvar-virus specimens were then treated as thin tissue sections within our standard two stage immunolabelling protocol. Following completion of immunogold labelling; each grid was negatively stained with phosphotungstic acid or uranyl acetate contrast stains.

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