Towards Artificial Hydrocarbon Networks: The Chemical Nature of Data-Driven Approaches

Author(s):  
Hiram Ponce
Keyword(s):  
Author(s):  
Richard R. Shivers

The sinus gland is a neurohemal organ located in the crayfish eyestalk and represents a storage site for neurohormones prior to their release into the circulation. The sinus gland contains 3 classes of dense, membrane-limited granules: 1) granules measuring less than 1000 Å in diameter, 2) granules measuring 1100-1400 Å in diameter, and 3) granules measuring 1500-2000 Å in diameter. Class 3 granules are the most electron-dense of the granules found in the sinus gland, while class 2 granules are the most abundant. Generally, all granules appear to undergo similar changes during release.Release of neurosecretory granules may be initiated by a preliminary fragmentation of the “parent granule” into smaller, less dense vesicles which measure about 350 Å in diameter (V, Figs. 1-3). A decrease in density of the granules prior to their fragmentation has been observed and may reflect a change in the chemical nature of the granule contents.


Author(s):  
Nicholas J Severs

In his pioneering demonstration of the potential of freeze-etching in biological systems, Russell Steere assessed the future promise and limitations of the technique with remarkable foresight. Item 2 in his list of inherent difficulties as they then stood stated “The chemical nature of the objects seen in the replica cannot be determined”. This defined a major goal for practitioners of freeze-fracture which, for more than a decade, seemed unattainable. It was not until the introduction of the label-fracture-etch technique in the early 1970s that the mould was broken, and not until the following decade that the full scope of modern freeze-fracture cytochemistry took shape. The culmination of these developments in the 1990s now equips the researcher with a set of effective techniques for routine application in cell and membrane biology.Freeze-fracture cytochemical techniques are all designed to provide information on the chemical nature of structural components revealed by freeze-fracture, but differ in how this is achieved, in precisely what type of information is obtained, and in which types of specimen can be studied.


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