Preparation of Modern Palynomorphs for Scanning Electron Microscopy by the Critical Point Drying Method

1973 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
pp. 83
Author(s):  
Gerald E. Garner ◽  
Vaughn M. Bryant
Keyword(s):  
Electron Microscopy ◽  
Scanning Electron Microscopy ◽  
Critical Point ◽  
Drying Method ◽  
Critical Point Drying ◽  
Scanning Electron

Preservation of Plant Cell Surfaces For Scanning Electron Microscopy

1973 ◽  
Vol 31 ◽  
pp. 472-473
Author(s):  
Linda M. Sicko ◽  
Thomas E. Jensen
Keyword(s):  
Electron Microscopy ◽  
Scanning Electron Microscopy ◽  
Critical Point ◽  
Filter Paper ◽  
Freeze Drying ◽  
Cell Surfaces ◽  
Air Drying ◽  
Popular Method ◽  
Critical Point Drying ◽  
Scanning Electron

The use of critical point drying is rapidly becoming a popular method of preparing biological samples for scanning electron microscopy. The procedure is rapid, and produces consistent results with a variety of samples. The preservation of surface details is much greater than that of air drying, and the procedure is less complicated than that of freeze drying. This paper will present results comparing conventional air-drying of plant specimens to critical point drying, both of fixed and unfixed material. The preservation of delicate structures which are easily damaged in processing and the use of filter paper as a vehicle for drying will be discussed.

Delicate Botanical Specimens Preserved for Scanning Electron Microscopy by Critical Point Drying

1971 ◽  
Vol 29 ◽  
pp. 450-451
Author(s):  
Arthur L. Cohen ◽  
Gerald E. Garner
Keyword(s):  
Electron Microscopy ◽  
Scanning Electron Microscopy ◽  
Critical Point ◽  
Freeze Drying ◽  
Animal Cell ◽  
Pollen Grains ◽  
Scanning Electron Micrographs ◽  
Animal Cells ◽  
Critical Point Drying ◽  
Scanning Electron

The surface forms and structures of animal cells have been strikingly preserved for scanning electron microscopy by freeze-drying and by critical point drying both by the method with CO2 used as the transitional fluid and the later procedure which uses a fluorocarbon (Freon 13) as a medium for the transition from the liquid to the gaseous environment. Freeze-drying is often prolonged (5-12 hours as compared with an hour or less by the critical point method) and in our experience with mold cultures on agar, the substrate shrivels and cracks and hyphal filaments are distorted.Despite, and possibly because of a flexible but inelastic cell wall, plant cells often show greater distortion than do animal cells after evaporative drying or replacement dehydration for mixrotechnical work. The animal cell membrane can contract more or less uniformly on drying - as shown by the numerous micrographs of well-preserved erythrocytes, while plant cell walls often crumple. The many scanning electron micrographs of partially collapsed pollen grains bear witness to this fact.

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