scholarly journals Crossover from lamellar to intersected ice morphologies within a single ice crystal during unidirectional freezing of an aqueous solution

2021 ◽  
pp. 126398
Author(s):  
Tongxin Zhang ◽  
Zhijun Wang ◽  
Lilin Wang ◽  
Junjie Li ◽  
Jincheng Wang
Keyword(s):  
Aqueous Solution ◽  
Ice Crystal ◽  
Unidirectional Freezing

scholarly journals Synthetic zwitterions as efficient non-permeable cryoprotectants

2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yui Kato ◽  
Takuya Uto ◽  
Daisuke Tanaka ◽  
Kojiro Ishibashi ◽  
Akiko Kobayashi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Molecular Dynamics ◽  
Aqueous Solution ◽  
Molecular Dynamics Simulation ◽  
Direct Interaction ◽  
Human Kidney ◽  
Dynamics Simulation ◽  
Crystal Formation ◽  
Ice Crystal ◽  
Good Efficiency ◽  
A Cell

AbstractCryopreservation of cells is necessary for long periods of storage. However, some cell lines cannot be efficiently cryopreserved, even when optimized commercial cryoprotectants are employed. Previously, we found that a low-toxic synthetic zwitterion aqueous solution enabled good cryopreservation. However, this zwitterion solution could not cryopreserve some cells, such as human kidney BOSC cells, with good efficiency. Therefore, details of the cryoprotective effect of the zwitterions and optimization based on its mechanisms are required. Herein, we synthesized 18 zwitterion species and assessed the effects of the physical properties of water/zwitterion mixtures. Non-cell-permeable zwitterions can inhibit ice crystal formation extracellularly via direct interaction with water and intracellularly via dehydration of cells. However, cells that could not be cryopreserved by zwitterions were insufficiently dehydrated in the zwitterion solution. Dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) was combined as a cell-permeable cryoprotectant to compensate for the shortcomings of non-cell-permeable zwitterions. The water/zwitterion/DMSO (90/10/15, v/w/w) could cryopreserve different cells, for example freezing-vulnerable K562 and OVMANA cells; yielding ~1.8-fold cell viability compared to the case using a commercial cryoprotectant. Furthermore, molecular dynamics simulation indicated that the zwitterions protected the cell membrane from the collapse induced by DMSO.

High-pressure freezing of cells in suspension for low-voltage scanning electron microscopy (LVSEM)

1991 ◽  
Vol 49 ◽  
pp. 64-65
Author(s):  
Marek Malecki ◽  
James Pawley ◽  
Hans Ris
Keyword(s):  
Electron Microscopy ◽  
High Pressure ◽  
Low Voltage ◽  
Culture Media ◽  
Cell Structure ◽  
Freeze Substitution ◽  
Ice Crystal ◽  
High Pressure Freezing ◽  
Cell Culture Media ◽  
Voltage Scanning

The ultrastructure of cells suspended in physiological fluids or cell culture media can only be studied if the living processes are stopped while the cells remain in suspension. Attachment of living cells to carrier surfaces to facilitate further processing for electron microscopy produces a rapid reorganization of cell structure eradicating most traces of the structures present when the cells were in suspension. The structure of cells in suspension can be immobilized by either chemical fixation or, much faster, by rapid freezing (cryo-immobilization). The fixation speed is particularly important in studies of cell surface reorganization over time. High pressure freezing provides conditions where specimens up to 500μm thick can be frozen in milliseconds without ice crystal damage. This volume is sufficient for cells to remain in suspension until frozen. However, special procedures are needed to assure that the unattached cells are not lost during subsequent processing for LVSEM or HVEM using freeze-substitution or freeze drying. We recently developed such a procedure.

Structures Formed by Cryoprotective Agents Used in Freezc-Etching

1971 ◽  
Vol 29 ◽  
pp. 448-449
Author(s):  
G. G. Cocks ◽  
C. E. Cluthe
Keyword(s):  
Aqueous Solution ◽  
Polyethylene Oxide ◽  
Liquid Nitrogen Temperature ◽  
Ice Crystals ◽  
Etching Technique ◽  
Structural Constituent ◽  
Cryoprotective Agents ◽  
Quick Freezing ◽  
Freeze Etching ◽  
Fractured Surface

The freeze etching technique is potentially useful for examining dilute solutions or suspensions of macromolecular materials. Quick freezing of aqueous solutions in Freon or propane at or near liquid nitrogen temperature produces relatively large ice crystals and these crystals may damage the structures to be examined. Cryoprotective agents may reduce damage to the specimem, hut their use often results in the formation of a different set of specimem artifacts.In a study of the structure of polyethylene oxide gels glycerol and sucrose were used as cryoprotective agents. The experiments reported here show some of the structures which can appear when these cryoprotective agents are used.Figure 1 shows a fractured surface of a frozen 25% aqueous solution of sucrose. The branches of dendritic ice crystals surrounded hy ice-sucrose eutectic can be seen. When this fractured surface is etched the ice in the dendrites sublimes giving the type of structure shown in Figure 2. The ice-sucrose eutectic etches much more slowly. It is the smooth continuous structural constituent surrounding the branches of the dendrites.

Preparation and characterisation of vanadium pentoxide supported rhodium catalyst

1988 ◽  
Vol 46 ◽  
pp. 946-947
Author(s):  
A. Legrouri
Keyword(s):  
Aqueous Solution ◽  
Thermal Decomposition ◽  
Physicochemical Properties ◽  
Surface Area ◽  
Vanadium Pentoxide ◽  
High Purity ◽  
Gas Adsorption ◽  
Rhodium Catalyst ◽  
Optical Methods ◽  
Reducible Oxides

The industrial importance of metal catalysts supported on reducible oxides has stimulated considerable interest during the last few years. This presentation reports on the study of the physicochemical properties of metallic rhodium supported on vanadium pentoxide (Rh/V2O5). Electron optical methods, in conjunction with other techniques, were used to characterise the catalyst before its use in the hydrogenolysis of butane; a reaction for which Rh metal is known to be among the most active catalysts.V2O5 powder was prepared by thermal decomposition of high purity ammonium metavanadate in air at 400 °C for 2 hours. Previous studies of the microstructure of this compound, by HREM, SEM and gas adsorption, showed it to be non— porous with a very low surface area of 6m2/g3. The metal loading of the catalyst used was lwt%Rh on V2Q5. It was prepared by wet impregnating the support with an aqueous solution of RhCI3.3H2O.

Cryosectioning plant roots prepared by high-pressure freezing

1987 ◽  
Vol 45 ◽  
pp. 662-663
Author(s):  
R.E. Crang ◽  
M. Mueller ◽  
K. Zierold
Keyword(s):  
High Pressure ◽  
Cell Walls ◽  
Plant Tissues ◽  
Ice Crystal ◽  
High Pressure Freezing ◽  
Vitreous State ◽  
Radial Depth ◽  
Irregular Topography ◽  
Considerable Depth ◽  
Conventional Freezing

Obtaining frozen-hydrated sections of plant tissues for electron microscopy and microanalysis has been considered difficult, if not impossible, due primarily to the considerable depth of effective freezing in the tissues which would be required. The greatest depth of vitreous freezing is generally considered to be only 15-20 μm in animal specimens. Plant cells are often much larger in diameter and, if several cells are required to be intact, ice crystal damage can be expected to be so severe as to prevent successful cryoultramicrotomy. The very nature of cell walls, intercellular air spaces, irregular topography, and large vacuoles often make it impractical to use immersion, metal-mirror, or jet freezing techniques for botanical material.However, it has been proposed that high-pressure freezing (HPF) may offer an alternative to the more conventional freezing techniques, inasmuch as non-cryoprotected specimens may be frozen in a vitreous, or near-vitreous state, to a radial depth of at least 0.5 mm.

High-pressure freezing and freeze substitution of plant tissue

1992 ◽  
Vol 50 (1) ◽  
pp. 748-749
Author(s):  
William P. Sharp ◽  
Robert W. Roberson
Keyword(s):  
High Pressure ◽  
Cell Structure ◽  
Leaf Tissue ◽  
Freeze Substitution ◽  
Crystal Formation ◽  
Ice Crystal ◽  
High Pressure Freezing ◽  
Cell Components ◽  
Cold Metal ◽  
Brome Grass

The aim of ultrastructural investigation is to analyze cell architecture and relate a functional role(s) to cell components. It is known that aqueous chemical fixation requires seconds to minutes to penetrate and stabilize cell structure which may result in structural artifacts. The use of ultralow temperatures to fix and prepare specimens, however, leads to a much improved preservation of the cell’s living state. A critical limitation of conventional cryofixation methods (i.e., propane-jet freezing, cold-metal slamming, plunge-freezing) is that only a 10 to 40 μm thick surface layer of cells can be frozen without distorting ice crystal formation. This problem can be allayed by freezing samples under about 2100 bar of hydrostatic pressure which suppresses the formation of ice nuclei and their rate of growth. Thus, 0.6 mm thick samples with a total volume of 1 mm3 can be frozen without ice crystal damage. The purpose of this study is to describe the cellular details and identify potential artifacts in root tissue of barley (Hordeum vulgari L.) and leaf tissue of brome grass (Bromus mollis L.) fixed and prepared by high-pressure freezing (HPF) and freeze substitution (FS) techniques.

The “KIMWIPE” Effect in Ultra-Thin Cryosections

1985 ◽  
Vol 43 ◽  
pp. 458-459
Author(s):  
I. Taylor ◽  
P. Ingram ◽  
J.R. Sommer
Keyword(s):  
Skeletal Muscle ◽  
Electrical Stimulation ◽  
Muscle Fibers ◽  
Ice Crystals ◽  
Crystal Formation ◽  
Ice Crystal ◽  
Thin Sections ◽  
Skeletal Muscle Fibers ◽  
Freeze Dried ◽  
Ice Crystal Formation

In studying quick-frozen single intact skeletal muscle fibers for structural and microchemical alterations that occur milliseconds, and fractions thereof, after electrical stimulation, we have developed a method to compare, directly, ice crystal formation in freeze-substituted thin sections adjacent to all, and beneath the last, freeze-dried cryosections. We have observed images in the cryosections that to our knowledge have not been published heretofore (Figs.1-4). The main features are that isolated, sometimes large regions of the sections appear hazy and have much less contrast than adjacent regions. Sometimes within the hazy regions there are smaller areas that appear crinkled and have much more contrast. We have also observed that while the hazy areas remain still, the regions of higher contrast visibly contract in the beam, often causing tears in the sections that are clearly not caused by ice crystals (Fig.3, arrows).

TEM observation of iron oxide pillars in montmorillonite

1990 ◽  
Vol 48 (4) ◽  
pp. 882-883
Author(s):  
H. Mori ◽  
Y. Murata ◽  
H. Yoneyama ◽  
H. Fujita
Keyword(s):  
Aqueous Solution ◽  
Iron Oxide ◽  
Fine Particles ◽  
Aqueous Suspension ◽  
Volume Ratio ◽  
Exchange Capacity ◽  
Nano Composites ◽  
Pillared Montmorillonite ◽  
Topographic Features ◽  
Transmission Electron

Recently, a new sort of nano-composites has been prepared by incorporating such fine particles as metal oxide microcrystallites and organic polymers into the interlayer space of montmorillonite. Owing to their extremely large specific surface area, the nano-composites are finding wide application[1∼3]. However, the topographic features of the microstructures have not been elucidated as yet In the present work, the microstructures of iron oxide-pillared montmorillonite have been investigated by high-resolution transmission electron microscopy.Iron oxide-pillared montmorillonite was prepared through the procedure essentially the same as that reported by Yamanaka et al. Firstly, 0.125 M aqueous solution of trinuclear acetato-hydroxo iron(III) nitrate, [Fe3(OCOCH3)7 OH.2H2O]NO3, was prepared and then the solution was mixed with an aqueous suspension of 1 wt% clay by continuously stirring at 308 K. The final volume ratio of the latter aqueous solution to the former was 0.4. The clay used was sodium montmorillonite (Kunimine Industrial Co.), having a cation exchange capacity of 100 mequiv/100g. The montmorillonite in the mixed suspension was then centrifuged, followed by washing with deionized water. The washed samples were spread on glass plates, air dried, and then annealed at 673 K for 72 ks in air. The resultant film products were approximately 20 μm in thickness and brown in color.

The microstructure of functionalized poLyacrylonitrile beads for bioseparations

1990 ◽  
Vol 48 (4) ◽  
pp. 1094-1095
Author(s):  
Eduardo A. Kamenetzky ◽  
David A. Ley
Keyword(s):  
Aqueous Solution ◽  
Affinity Chromatography ◽  
Pore Size Distribution ◽  
Pore Size ◽  
Surface Coverage ◽  
Vacuum Impregnation ◽  
Thin Sections ◽  
Selective Staining ◽  
Low Viscosity ◽  
Diamond Knife

The microstructure of polyacrylonitrile (PAN) beads for affinity chromatography bioseparations was studied by TEM of stained ultramicrotomed thin-sections. Microstructural aspects such as overall pore size distribution, the distribution of pores within the beads, and surface coverage of functionalized beads affect performance properties. Stereological methods are used to quantify the internal structure of these chromatographic supports. Details of the process for making the PAN beads are given elsewhere. TEM specimens were obtained by vacuum impregnation with a low-viscosity epoxy and sectioning with a diamond knife. The beads can be observed unstained. However, different surface functionalities can be made evident by selective staining. Amide surface coverage was studied by staining in vapor of a 0.5.% RuO4 aqueous solution for 1 h. RuO4 does not stain PAN but stains, amongst many others, polymers containing an amide moiety.

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