scholarly journals Freezing of tissue-limits for the autoradiographic localization of diffusible substances.

1979 ◽  
Vol 27 (11) ◽  
pp. 1520-1523 ◽  
Author(s):  
P M Frederik ◽  
W M Busing

Frozen thin sections and sections from freeze-dried and embedded tissue are used for the autoradiographic localization of diffusible substances at the electron microscope level. The presence of ice crystals in such sections may limit the autoradiographic resolution. Ice crystals are formed during freezing and may grow during subsequent processing of tissue. The contribution of ice crystal growth to the final image was estimated by measuring the distribution of the ice crystal sizes in freeze-etch replicas and in sections from freeze-dried and embedded tissues. A surface layer (10-15 mu) without visible ice crystals was present in both preparations. Beneath this surface layer the diameter of ice crystals increased towards the interior with the same relationship between crystal size and distance from the surface in the freeze-etch preparation as in the freeze-dry preparation. Ice crystal growth occurring during a much longer time during freeze-drying compared to freeze-etching does not significantly contribute to the final image in the electron microscope. The formation of ice crystals during freezing determines to a large extent the image (and therefore the autoradiographic resolution) of freeze-dry preparations and this probably holds also for thin cryosections of which examples are given.

Author(s):  
I. Taylor ◽  
P. Ingram ◽  
J.R. Sommer

In studying quick-frozen single intact skeletal muscle fibers for structural and microchemical alterations that occur milliseconds, and fractions thereof, after electrical stimulation, we have developed a method to compare, directly, ice crystal formation in freeze-substituted thin sections adjacent to all, and beneath the last, freeze-dried cryosections. We have observed images in the cryosections that to our knowledge have not been published heretofore (Figs.1-4). The main features are that isolated, sometimes large regions of the sections appear hazy and have much less contrast than adjacent regions. Sometimes within the hazy regions there are smaller areas that appear crinkled and have much more contrast. We have also observed that while the hazy areas remain still, the regions of higher contrast visibly contract in the beam, often causing tears in the sections that are clearly not caused by ice crystals (Fig.3, arrows).


2003 ◽  
Vol 37 ◽  
pp. 129-133 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karen Guldbæ K Schmidt ◽  
Dorthe Dahl-Jensen

AbstractA simple model for crystal growth in the ice shell of Europa has been made in order to estimate the size of ice crystals at Europa’s surface. If mass is lost from the surface of Europa due to sputtering processes, and the ice thickness is constant in time, ice crystals will be transported upwards in the ice shell. The crystals will therefore grow under varying conditions through the shell. The model predicts that ice crystals are 4 cm– 80 m across at the surface. For the preferred parameter values, a crystal size of the order of 7 m is calculated.


Author(s):  
Russell L. Steere ◽  
Eric F. Erbe

In 1953, when I first developed the idea of preparing specimens by the procedure now known as “freeze-etching”, the major techniques required for this approach had already been developed and were in use in our laboratory. We were freeze-drying viruses using the methods reported by Williams. We were shadowing such specimens with chromium (Cr) as well as other heavy metals. We were evaporating silicon monoxide (SiO) to provide support films or replicas. We had already looked at freeze-dried tobacco mosaic virus (TMV) crystals in various ways. We also were well aware that some specimens, for example, the very fragile TMV crystals, within infected cells, could not be examined properly with the existing cytological methods. Since I had used all of these methods, it became clear to me that a new cytological approach could be developed for the examination of biological specimens in the electron microscope. The approach appeared to be very simple at the time: 1) freeze the sample; 2) fracture the sample while still frozen; 3) keep the sample at very low temperature while it was being evacuated;


CrystEngComm ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 19 (16) ◽  
pp. 2163-2167 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charles H. Z. Kong ◽  
Ivanhoe K. H. Leung ◽  
Vijayalekshmi Sarojini

Synthetic antifreeze peptides based on the hyperactive antifreeze protein modify the shape of ice crystals and show enhanced antifreeze activity with the addition of a small molecule.


2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Guillaume Mioche ◽  
Olivier Jourdan ◽  
Julien Delanoë ◽  
Christophe Gourbeyre ◽  
Guy Febvre ◽  
...  

Abstract. This study aims to characterize the microphysical and optical properties of ice crystals and supercooled liquid droplets within low-level Arctic mixed-phase clouds (MPC). We compiled and analyzed cloud in situ measurements from 4 airborne campaigns (18 flights, 71 vertical profiles in MPC) over the Greenland Sea and the Svalbard region. Cloud phase discrimination and representative vertical profiles of number, size, mass and shapes of ice crystals and liquid droplets are assessed. The results show that the liquid phase dominates the upper part of the MPC with high concentration of small droplets (120 cm−3, 15&tinsp;μm), and averaged LWC around 0.2 g m−3. The ice phase is found everywhere within the MPC layers, but dominates the properties in the lower part of the cloud and below where ice crystals precipitate down to the surface. The analysis of the ice crystal morphology highlights that irregulars and rimed are the main particle habit followed by stellars and plates. We hypothesize that riming and condensational growth processes (including the Wegener-Bergeron-Findeisein mechanism) are the main growth mechanisms involved in MPC. The differences observed in the vertical profiles of MPC properties from one campaign to another highlight that large values of LWC and high concentration of smaller droplets are possibly linked to polluted situations which lead to very low values of ice crystal size and IWC. On the contrary, clean situations with low temperatures exhibit larger values of ice crystal size and IWC. Several parameterizations relevant for remote sensing or modeling are also determined, such as IWC (and LWC) – extinction relationship, ice and liquid integrated water paths, ice concentration and liquid water fraction according to temperature. Finally, 4 flights collocated with active remote sensing observations from CALIPSO and CloudSat satellites are specifically analyzed to evaluate the cloud detection and cloud thermodynamical phase DARDAR retrievals. This comparison is valuable to assess the sub-pixel variability of the satellite measurements as well as their shortcomings/performance near the ground.


1993 ◽  
Vol 18 ◽  
pp. 208-210
Author(s):  
Hitoshi Shoji ◽  
Atau Mitani ◽  
Kohji Horita ◽  
Chester C. Langway

Continuous crystal-size measurements made on the G6 Antarctic ice core (100m deep) show enhanced growth rates above a depth of 30 m (Zone 1) and in the interval between 70 and 80 m (Zone 2). Crystal growth in Zone 1 most probably takes place by a process of sublimation and condensation. The higher growth rate in Zone 2 is most probably related to the pore close-off transformation process in which a non-uniform strain field is created to form air bubbles by plastic deformation and “cannibalization” of individual ice crystals.


1988 ◽  
Vol 10 ◽  
pp. 109-115 ◽  
Author(s):  
C.C. Langway ◽  
H. Shoji ◽  
N. Azuma

Crystal size and c-axis orientation patterns were measured on the Dye 3, Greenland, deep ice core in order to investigate time-dependent changes or alterations in the physical character of the core as a function of time after recovery. The physical measurements were expanded to include depth intervals not previously studied in the field. The recent study focused on core samples located between 1786 m and the bottom of the ice sheet at 2037 m.Manual c-axis measurements were made on 23 new thin sections using a Rigsby-type universal stage. A new semi-automatic ultrasonic wave-velocity measuring device was developed in order to compare the results with the earlier manual measurements and to study an additional 114 ice-core samples in the Wisconsin-age ice. Crystal-size measurements were made on specimen surfaces by inducing evaporation grooves at crystal boundaries and measuring linear intercepts. The ultrasonically measured test samples were subsequently cleaned and analyzed by ion chromatography in order to measure impurity concentration levels of Cl−, NO3− and SO42− and study their effects on crystal growth and c-axis orientation.


1971 ◽  
Vol 48 (1) ◽  
pp. 49-60 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. J. Baskin

Fragmented sarcoplasmic reticulum (FSR) from crustacean muscle was examined following preparation by a variety of electron microscopic techniques. The 30–40 A particles which appeared on the outer surface of FSR vesicles following negative staining were not observed following preparation by freeze-drying, freeze-etching, thin sectioning, or critical-point drying. Crustacean FSR exhibited high values of calcium uptake and extensive nodular formation in the presence of oxalate. 80–90 A diameter membrane particles were seen in freeze-etch preparations of both intact lobster muscle and FSR vesicles. Thin sections of FSR vesicles revealed a membrane thickness of 60–70 A. The membrane appeared to be triple layered, each layer having a thickness of 20–25 A.


2018 ◽  
Vol 115 (29) ◽  
pp. 7479-7484 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maddalena Bayer-Giraldi ◽  
Gen Sazaki ◽  
Ken Nagashima ◽  
Sepp Kipfstuhl ◽  
Dmitry A. Vorontsov ◽  
...  

Ice-binding proteins (IBPs) affect ice crystal growth by attaching to crystal faces. We present the effects on the growth of an ice single crystal caused by an ice-binding protein from the sea ice microalga Fragilariopsis cylindrus (fcIBP) that is characterized by the widespread domain of unknown function 3494 (DUF3494) and known to cause a moderate freezing point depression (below 1 °C). By the application of interferometry, bright-field microscopy, and fluorescence microscopy, we observed that the fcIBP attaches to the basal faces of ice crystals, thereby inhibiting their growth in the c direction and resulting in an increase in the effective supercooling with increasing fcIBP concentration. In addition, we observed that the fcIBP attaches to prism faces and inhibits their growth. In the event that the effective supercooling is small and crystals are faceted, this process causes an emergence of prism faces and suppresses crystal growth in the a direction. When the effective supercooling is large and ice crystals have developed into a dendritic shape, the suppression of prism face growth results in thinner dendrite branches, and growth in the a direction is accelerated due to enhanced latent heat dissipation. Our observations clearly indicate that the fcIBP occupies a separate position in the classification of IBPs due to the fact that it suppresses the growth of basal faces, despite its moderate freezing point depression.


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