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Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America logoLink to Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
. 1984 Sep;81(18):5744–5747. doi: 10.1073/pnas.81.18.5744

An improved procedure for immunoelectron microscopy: ultrathin plastic embedding of immunolabeled ultrathin frozen sections.

G A Keller, K T Tokuyasu, A H Dutton, S J Singer
PMCID: PMC391787  PMID: 6435119

Abstract

Ultrathin frozen sections are ideal substrates with which to carry out immunolabeling experiments in electron microscopy. However, the ultrastructural delineation in positively stained frozen sections has not been as detailed as in conventionally osmium-stained and plastic-embedded sections. We now describe a simple technique in which immunolabeled ultrathin frozen sections are subsequently treated with osmium tetroxide, dehydrated, and then embedded in plastic by impregnation with a monomer to the thickness of the section, followed by polymerization of the monomer. By this technique ultrastructural definition as good as that of conventional plastic sections is achieved, while the high density and specificity of immunolabeling characteristic of ultrathin frozen sections are retained.

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Selected References

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