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MUSCLE SAMPLES FOR SCANNING ELECTRON MICROSCOPY: PREPARATIVE TECHNIQUES AND GENERAL MORPHOLOGY
Author(s) -
JONES SUSAN B.,
CARROLL ROBERT J.,
CAVANAUGH JAMES R.
Publication year - 1976
Publication title -
journal of food science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.772
H-Index - 150
eISSN - 1750-3841
pISSN - 0022-1147
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2621.1976.tb00741_41_4.x
Subject(s) - shrinkage , scanning electron microscope , cleavage (geology) , cell structure , electron microscope , anatomy , longissimus dorsi , chemistry , fracture (geology) , materials science , biophysics , biomedical engineering , biology , composite material , microbiology and biotechnology , medicine , physics , food science , optics
Bovine semitendinosus and longissimus dorsi, both freshly slaughtered and aged, were prepared by various techniques prior to examination by SEM. The important problems of sample preparation were freeze damage, production of surface artifacts, and tissue shrinkage. Ethanol freeze fracture of fixed material followed by critical point drying or air drying from solvent circumvented most of the difficulties and provided the most useful specimens. Cleavage of muscle tissue by freeze fracture exposed muscle cell structures for observation. Useful magnifications up to 20,000 × were obtained and identification was made of A, I and H bands, nuclei, and structures suggestive of mitochondria and muscle cell triads. The structural consequences of cold shortening and rigor were observed.