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Electron microscopy of melamine‐embedded frog retina: evidence for the overall crystalline organization of photoreceptor outer segments
Author(s) -
Bachhuber Karlheinz,
Frösch Dieter
Publication year - 1984
Publication title -
journal of microscopy
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.569
H-Index - 111
eISSN - 1365-2818
pISSN - 0022-2720
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2818.1984.tb00471.x
Subject(s) - membrane , electron microscope , crystallography , melamine , materials science , perpendicular , biophysics , chemistry , optics , biology , composite material , physics , biochemistry , geometry , mathematics
SUMMARY Melamine‐formaldehyde, a widely used technical aminoplast, was recently introduced as a water‐soluble embedding‐medium for electron microscopy (Bachhuber & Frösch, 1983). When processed, using this new technique, the membranes and associated cytoplasmic structures of rod and cone discs show a high degree of structural organization. The membranes are symmetrical and composed of arrays of a 2–2·5 nm particle with a very regular spacing of 3 nm. A network of delicate filaments of less than 2 nm is superimposed on to this framework of membranes, running perpendicularly between the discs and across the disc membranes. The outer segment as a whole shows a crystal‐like organization.