Suitability of different silver enhancement methods applied to 1 nm colloidal gold particles: An immunoelectron microscopic study

1991 ◽  
Vol 17 (3) ◽  
pp. 336-343 ◽  
Author(s):  
York-Dieter Stierhof ◽  
Bruno M. Humbel ◽  
Heinz Schwarz
1997 ◽  
Vol 5 (5) ◽  
pp. 12-13
Author(s):  
Paul Webster

Colloidal gold has been used for centuries in the preparation of stained glass for windows and fine glassware. In recent years, colloidal gold particles have become a useful tool in microscopy for staining tissues and sections. Colloidal gold particles are especially useful for biological electron microscopy, Some of the reasons why are listed below.*Homogeneous preparations of particles varying in size from 3μm to 20μm can be easily prepared.*Colloidal gold suspensions are inexpensive to prepare. Most proteins can be easily coupled to colloidal gold particles.*Most proteins can be easily coupled to colloidal gold particles.*Proteins coupled to gold particles do not appear to lose their biological activity.*The colloidal gold particles can be easily seen in the electron microscope.*Colloidal gold does not naturally occur in biological material. Therefore, if you see it, it is because you put it there.*Colloidal gold probes can be used for light microscopy, The larger gold particles can be directly observed by the light microscope. Small particles are detected by silver enhancement or epipolarized illumination.*The same probes can be used for both LM and TEM imrnunocytochemistry.


1994 ◽  
Vol 42 (12) ◽  
pp. 1615-1623 ◽  
Author(s):  
T Takizawa ◽  
J M Robinson

We present a new application for the use of small immunogold particles (approximately 1.4-nm diameter) for ultrastructural immunocytochemistry. These small gold particles have been used on ultra-thin cryosections in conjunction with a silver enhancement procedure that does not degrade ultrastructural detail. We have used the human neutrophil as a model system, in which known protein markers of two different cytoplasmic granules were localized, in the development of this procedure. The 1.4-nm immunogold particles coupled with silver enhancement yield intense labeling for localization of lactoferrin, a marker for the specific granules, and myeloperoxidase, a marker for the azurophil granules. Double labeling in which one antigen was visualized with 1.4-nm gold and silver enhancement and a second antigen was detected with colloidal gold-IgG on the same ultra-thin cryosection was successfully achieved. We also show that 1.4-nm diameter immunogold particles penetrate into cryosectioned neutrophils to a greater extent than 5-nm or 10-nm immunogold probes. These results show that small immunogold particles, along with silver enhancement, are a useful addition to the immunolabeling methods available for use with ultra-thin cryosections.


1992 ◽  
Vol 97 (3) ◽  
pp. 207-211 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Martiny Christensen ◽  
G. Danscher ◽  
S. Ellermann-Eriksen ◽  
J. Drasb�k Schi�nning ◽  
J. Rungby

1991 ◽  
Vol 39 (10) ◽  
pp. 1385-1394 ◽  
Author(s):  
W Völker ◽  
P Schön ◽  
P Vischer

We investigated the distribution of thrombospondin-specific binding sites and the uptake of thrombospondin-gold conjugates in cultured porcine endothelial cells by light and electron microscopy. Colloidal gold marker and silver enhancement techniques were applied for cytochemical detection of monomeric thrombospondin and fragments of thrombospondin. Thrombospondin binds to granular and fibrillar structures and to sites of cell-cell contact on the cell surface, as indicated by many proteoglycan-cuprolinic blue precipitates. Cell migration tracks on the culture dish bottom are most heavily stained. Labeling of intact thrombospondin and of proteolytic fragments of thrombospondin with colloidal gold followed by silver intensification enables one to detect its binding and uptake in endothelial cells. Binding to the cell surface and uptake of thrombospondin-gold particles was inhibited by heparin but not by hyaluronic acid or chondroitin sulfate. The heparin binding region at the N-terminal end of the thrombospondin molecule proved to be essential for cell surface binding. Gold-conjugated thrombospondin fragments devoid of the heparin binding region were not internalized. After 60 min incubation at 37 degrees C, thrombospondin-gold particles accumulated in the lysosomal compartment close to the nucleus. In the presence of monensin and ammonium chloride, vesicles in this area are swollen and the concentration of particulate marker is reduced. Binding and uptake of thrombospondin by vascular endothelial cells appears to require linkage of the heparin binding region of the thrombospondin molecule to coated pits and heparan sulfate-rich molecules as receptors. Colloidal gold conjugation of thrombospondin fragments proved to be useful for cytochemical characterization of molecular domains.


Author(s):  
Gary Bassell ◽  
Robert H. Singer

We have been investigating the spatial distribution of nucleic acids intracellularly using in situ hybridization. The use of non-isotopic nucleotide analogs incorporated into the DNA probe allows the detection of the probe at its site of hybridization within the cell. This approach therefore is compatible with the high resolution available by electron microscopy. Biotinated or digoxigenated probe can be detected by antibodies conjugated to colloidal gold. Because mRNA serves as a template for the probe fragments, the colloidal gold particles are detected as arrays which allow it to be unequivocally distinguished from background.


2020 ◽  
Vol 82 (5) ◽  
pp. 11-20
Author(s):  
D.R. Abdulina ◽  
◽  
L.M. Purish ◽  
G.O. Iutynska ◽  
◽  
...  

The studies of the carbohydrate composition of the sulfate-reducing bacteria (SRB) biofilms formed on the steel surface, which are a factor of microbial corrosion, are significant. Since exopolymers synthesized by bacteria could activate corrosive processes. The aim of the study was to investigate the specificity of commercial lectins, labeled with colloidal gold to carbohydrates in the biofilm exopolymeric matrix produced by the corrosive-relevant SRB strains from man-caused ecotopes. Methods. Microbiological methods (obtaining of the SRB biofilms during cultivation in liquid Postgate B media under microaerophilic conditions), biochemical methods (lectin-binding analysis of 10 commercial lectins, labeled with colloidal gold), transmission electron microscopy using JEM-1400 JEOL. Results. It was shown using transmission electron microscopy that the binding of lectins with carbohydrates in the biofilm of the studied SRB strains occurred directly in the exopolymerіс matrix, as well as on the surfaces of bacterial cells, as seen by the presence of colloidal gold particles. For detection of the neutral carbohydrates (D-glucose and D-mannose) in the biofilm of almost all studied bacterial strains PSA lectin was the most specific. This lectin binding in biofilms of Desulfotomaculum sp. К1/3 and Desulfovibrio sp. 10 strains was higher in 90.8% and 94.4%, respectively, then for ConA lectin. The presence of fucose in the SRB biofilms was detected using LABA lectin, that showed specificity to the biofilm EPS of all the studied strains. LBA lectin was the most specific to N-аcetyl-D-galactosamine for determination of amino sugars in the biofilm. The amount of this lectin binding in D. vulgaris DSM644 biofilm was 30.3, 10.1 and 9.3 times higher than SBA, SNA and PNA lectins, respectively. STA, LVA and WGA lectins were used to detect the N-acetyl-Dglucosamine and sialic acid in the biofilm. WGA lectin showed specificity to N-acetyl-D-glucosamine in the biofilm of all the studied SRB; maximum number of bounded colloidal gold particles (175 particles/μm2) was found in the Desulfotomaculum sp. TC3 biofilm. STA lectin was interacted most actively with N-acetyl-D-glucosamine in Desulfotomaculum sp. TC3 and Desulfomicrobium sp. TC4 biofilms. The number of bounded colloidal gold particles was in 9.2 and 7.4 times higher, respectively, than using LVA lectin. The lowest binding of colloidal gold particles was observed for LVA lectin. Conclusions. It was identified the individual specificity of the 10 commercial lectins to the carbohydrates of biofilm matrix on the steel surface, produced by SRB. It was estimated that lectins with identical carbohydrates specificity had variation in binding to the biofilm carbohydrates of different SRB strains. Establishing of the lectin range selected for each culture lead to the reduction of the scope of studies and labor time in the researching of the peculiarities of exopolymeric matrix composition of biofilms formed by corrosiverelevant SRB.


1989 ◽  
Vol 108 (6) ◽  
pp. 2343-2353 ◽  
Author(s):  
R H Singer ◽  
G L Langevin ◽  
J B Lawrence

We have been able to visualize cytoskeletal messenger RNA molecules at high resolution using nonisotopic in situ hybridization followed by whole-mount electron microscopy. Biotinated cDNA probes for actin, tubulin, or vimentin mRNAs were hybridized to Triton-extracted chicken embryo fibroblasts and myoblasts. The cells were then exposed to antibodies against biotin followed by colloidal gold-conjugated antibodies and then critical-point dried. Identification of mRNA was possible using a probe fragmented to small sizes such that hybridization of several probe fragments along the mRNA was detected as a string of colloidal gold particles qualitatively and quantitatively distinguishable from nonspecific background. Extensive analysis showed that when eight gold particles were seen in this iterated array, the signal to noise ratio was greater than 30:1. Furthermore, these gold particles were colinear, often spiral, or circular suggesting detection of a single nucleic acid molecule. Antibodies against actin, vimentin, or tubulin proteins were used after in situ hybridization, allowing simultaneous detection of the protein and its cognate message on the same sample. This revealed that cytoskeletal mRNAs are likely to be extremely close to actin protein (5 nm or less) and unlikely to be within 20 nm of vimentin or tubulin filaments. Actin mRNA was found to be more predominant in lamellipodia of motile cells, confirming previous results. These results indicate that this high resolution in situ hybridization approach is a powerful tool by which to investigate the association of mRNA with the cytoskeleton.


1992 ◽  
Vol 101 (3) ◽  
pp. 503-508
Author(s):  
R. Newman ◽  
G.W. Butcher ◽  
B. Bullard ◽  
K.R. Leonard

Insect flight muscle has a large component (Tn-H) in the tropomyosin-troponin complex that is not present in vertebrate striated muscle thin filaments. Tn-H is shown by gold/Fab labelling to be present at regular intervals in insect flight muscle thin filaments. The Fab fragment of a monoclonal antibody to Tn-H was conjugated directly with colloidal gold and this probe used to label isolated thin filaments from the flight muscle of Lethocerus indicus (water bug). The distribution of gold particles seen in electron microscope images of negatively stained thin filaments was analysed to show that the probe bound to sites having a periodicity of approximately 40 nm, which is the expected value for the tropomyosin-troponin repeat. Conjugates of Fab with colloidal gold particles of 3 nm diameter labelled almost all sites. Conjugates with gold particles of 5 nm and 10 nm diameter labelled less efficiently (70% and 30%, respectively) but analysis of the distribution of inter-particle intervals among a number of filaments again gave the same fundamental spacing of 40 nm. The error in the measurements (standard deviation approximately +/− 4.2 for 5 nm gold/Fab) is less than earlier estimates for the size of the gold/Fab complex. Measurements on gold/Fab in negative stain suggest that the bound Fab contributes a shell about 2 nm in thickness around the gold particle. The radius of the probe (about 4.5 nm for 5 nm gold/Fab) would then be consistent with the value of error found. The size of the probe suggests that the gold particle binds to the side of the Fab molecule, rather close to the antibody combining site. The potential resolution of the technique may thus be better than originally expected.


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