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Preservation and contrast without osmication or section staining
Author(s) -
Locke Michael
Publication year - 1994
Publication title -
microscopy research and technique
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.536
H-Index - 118
eISSN - 1097-0029
pISSN - 1059-910X
DOI - 10.1002/jemt.1070290102
Subject(s) - uranyl acetate , osmium tetroxide , immunogold labelling , staining , fixation (population genetics) , labelling , aldehyde , chemistry , frozen section procedure , osmium , cryofixation , transmission electron microscopy , electron microscope , biophysics , pathology , biochemistry , anatomy , biology , ultrastructure , nanotechnology , materials science , medicine , physics , gene , ruthenium , optics , catalysis
Conventional treatment of tissues for sectioning and transmission electron microscopy uses aldehyde fixation and osmium tetroxide postfixation. Although the result is aesthetically pleasing, osmication destroys some cell components and reduces the chemical activity of others, such as reactions with antibodies and lectins. We have found that aldehyde fixation followed by uranyl acetate preserves and contrasts most structures and visualizes some that are not easily seen after osmication. Aldehyde/UA treated tissues have enough contrast to be observed without section staining while retaining some of the chemical activity that is lost through osmication. Sections of tissues with good preservation and contrast can be used for immunogold and lectin‐gold labelling of at least some molecules. © 1994 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.