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Cryoultramicrotomy

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Cryotechniques in Biological Electron Microscopy

Abstract

The aim of cryoultramicrotomy is to provide a biological specimen suitable for transmission electron microscopy with the ultrastructure and chemical composition representing as close as possible the natural state. Cryosections offer the unique possibility to study cells unaffected by chemical treatment, staining and embedding. The present state of the art of cryoultramicrotomy can fulfill this aim only partly: the section thickness achieved routinely is about 100 nm, thus limiting the ultrastructural analysis. The distribution of water and diffusible substances, however, can be preserved and the chemical properties of biomolecules, in particular antigenicity, can be maintained.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Max-Planck-Institut für Systemphysiologie, Rheinlanddamm 201, D-4600, Dortmund, Germany

    Karl Zierold

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  1. Karl Zierold
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  1. Max-Planck-Institut für Verhaltensphysiologie, D-8131, Seewiesen, Germany

    Rudolf Alexander Steinbrecht

  2. Max-Planck-Institut für Systemphysiologie, Rheinlanddamm 201, D-4600, Dortmund, Germany

    Karl Zierold

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© 1987 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Zierold, K. (1987). Cryoultramicrotomy. In: Steinbrecht, R.A., Zierold, K. (eds) Cryotechniques in Biological Electron Microscopy. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-72815-0_6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-72815-0_6

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-642-72817-4

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