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. 1984 May 1;98(5):1878–1885. doi: 10.1083/jcb.98.5.1878

A new method of preparing embeddment-free sections for transmission electron microscopy: applications to the cytoskeletal framework and other three-dimensional networks

PMCID: PMC2113197  PMID: 6539336

Abstract

Diethylene glycol distearate is used as a removable embedding medium to produce embeddment -free sections for transmission electron microscopy. The easily cut sections of this material float and form ribbons in a water-filled knife trough and exhibit interference colors that aid in the selection of sections of equal thickness. The images obtained with embeddment -free sections are compared with those from the more conventional epoxy-embedded sections, and illustrate that embedding medium can obscure important biological structures, especially protein filament networks. The embeddment -free section methodology is well suited for morphological studies of cytoskeletal preparations obtained by extraction of cells with nonionic detergent in cytoskeletal stabilizing medium. The embeddment -free section also serves to bridge the very different images afforded by embedded sections and unembedded whole mounts.

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Selected References

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