The use of co-polymerized glutaraldehyde-carbohydrazide (GACH) was proposed for specimen preparation in scanning electron microscopy (SEM) as a means of avoiding dehydration in organic solvents, and to provide dimensionally stable biological specimens through a process of air-drying. It has been assumed that shrinkage of specimens prepared by the GACH technique should be less than that of conventionally-prepared material by critical point drying (CPD). In a previous study, Bell has reported significant shrinkage of whole cells for SEM. This report compares cell shrinkage in GACH and CPD preparations.Fibroblasts from newborn rats were grown on collagen-coated glass cover-slips (with alpha numeric grids etched onto the surface of the coverslips) in Eagle's minimum essential medium + 10% fetal calf serum for 7 d. (3). Using an inverted microscope with phase-contrast optics, micrographs were taken of the cultures in their live state and 1 h. after fixation with 2.5% glutaraldehyde in Dulbecco's phosphate buffered saline (Figs. 1 and 3).
Large magnitude of force leads to NO-mediated cell shrinkage in single osteocytes implying an initial apoptotic response
