Premium
Countercurrent plunge cooling: A new approach to increase reproducibility in the quick freezing of biological tissue
Author(s) -
Murray P. W. Le R.,
Robards A. W.,
Waites P. R.
Publication year - 1989
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.1365-2818.1989.tb02916.x
Subject(s) - countercurrent exchange , coolant , reproducibility , liquid nitrogen , propane , materials science , nitrogen gas , nuclear engineering , mechanics , chemistry , environmental science , analytical chemistry (journal) , thermodynamics , chromatography , physics , organic chemistry , engineering
SUMMARY Conditions fulfilling all the accepted criteria for optimum cryoquenching are realized for the first time in a plunge freezing device. Samples are plunged down through a smoothly rising cryogen stream that is maintained within ± 0.25 K of a preselected temperature. Dry nitrogen gas at ambient temperature removes evaporated cryogen molecules from the plunging path immediately above the liquid coolant to prevent pre‐cooling of the sample. Symmetrical instrument design and conditions of flow ensure symmetrical freezing under optimum conditions in a totally repeatable fashion. The device has been used with halocarbons, propane and ethane. It provides consistent cooling rates comparable with the best so far obtained by any other plunging method.