Methods in Light Microscope Radioautography

Author(s):  
Alyce Linthurst ◽  
William V. Dashek
Keyword(s):  
Author(s):  
B. J. Panessa ◽  
J. F. Gennaro

Tissue from the hood and sarcophagus regions were fixed in 6% glutaraldehyde in 1 M.cacodylate buffer and washed in buffer. Tissue for SEM was partially dried, attached to aluminium targets with silver conducting paint, carbon-gold coated(100-500Å), and examined in a Kent Cambridge Stereoscan S4. Tissue for the light microscope was post fixed in 1% aqueous OsO4, dehydrated in acetone (4°C), embedded in Epon 812 and sectioned at ½u on a Sorvall MT 2 ultramicrotome. Cross and longitudinal sections were cut and stained with PAS, 0.5% toluidine blue and 1% azure II-methylene blue. Measurements were made from both SEM and Light micrographs.The tissue had two structurally distinct surfaces, an outer surface with small (225-500 µ) pubescent hairs (12/mm2), numerous stoma (77/mm2), and nectar glands(8/mm2); and an inner surface with large (784-1000 µ)stiff hairs(4/mm2), fewer stoma (46/mm2) and larger, more complex glands(16/mm2), presumably of a digestive nature.


Author(s):  
J. G. Adams ◽  
M. M. Campbell ◽  
H. Thomas ◽  
J. J. Ghldonl

Since the introduction of epoxy resins as embedding material for electron microscopy, the list of new formulations and variations of widely accepted mixtures has grown rapidly. Described here is a resin system utilizing Maraglas 655, Dow D.E.R. 732, DDSA, and BDMA, which is a variation of the mixtures of Lockwood and Erlandson. In the development of the mixture, the Maraglas and the Dow resins were tested in 3 different volumetric proportions, 6:4, 7:3, and 8:2. Cutting qualities and characteristics of stability in the electron beam and image contrast were evaluated for these epoxy mixtures with anhydride (DDSA) to epoxy ratios of 0.4, 0.55, and 0.7. Each mixture was polymerized overnight at 60°C with 2% and 3% BDMA.Although the differences among the test resins were slight in terms of cutting ease, general tissue preservation, and stability in the beam, the 7:3 Maraglas to D.E.R. 732 ratio at an anhydride to epoxy ratio of 0.55 polymerized with 3% BDMA proved to be most consistent. The resulting plastic is relatively hard and somewhat brittle which necessitates trimming and facing the block slowly and cautiously to avoid chipping. Sections up to about 2 microns in thickness can be cut and stained with any of several light microscope stains and excellent quality light photomicrographs can be taken of such sections (Fig. 1).


Author(s):  
J. H. Luft

Ruthenium red is one of the few completely inorganic dyes used to stain tissues for light microscopy. This novelty is enhanced by ignorance regarding its staining mechanism. However, its continued usefulness in botany for demonstrating pectic substances attests to selectivity of some sort. Whether understood or not, histochemists continue to be grateful for small favors.Ruthenium red can also be used with the electron microscope. If single cells are exposed to ruthenium red solution, sufficient mass can be bound to produce observable density in the electron microscope. Generally, this effect is not useful with solid tissues because the contrast is wasted on the damaged cells at the block surface, with little dye diffusing more than 25-50 μ into the interior. Although these traces of ruthenium red which penetrate between and around cells are visible in the light microscope, they produce negligible contrast in the electron microscope. However, its presence can be amplified by a reaction with osmium tetroxide, probably catalytically, to be easily visible by EM. Now the density is clearly seen to be extracellular and closely associated with collagen fibers (Fig. 1).


Author(s):  
Shinya Inoué

This paper reports progress of our effort to rapidly capture, and display in time-lapsed mode, the 3-dimensional dynamic architecture of active living cells and developing embryos at the highest resolution of the light microscope. Our approach entails: (A) real-time video tape recording of through-focal, ultrathin optical sections of live cells at the highest resolution of the light microscope; (B) repeat of A at time-lapsed intervals; (C) once each time-lapsed interval, an image at home focus is recorded onto Optical Disk Memory Recorder (OMDR); (D) periods of interest are selected using the OMDR and video tape records; (E) selected stacks of optical sections are converted into plane projections representing different view angles (±4 degrees for stereo view, additional angles when revolving stereos are desired); (F) analysis using A - D.


Author(s):  
Rudolf Oldenbourg

The recent renaissance of the light microsope is fueled in part by technological advances in components on the periphery of the microscope, such as the laser as illumination source, electronic image recording (video), computer assisted image analysis and the biochemistry of fluorescent dyes for labeling specimens. After great progress in these peripheral parts, it seems timely to examine the optics itself and ask how progress in the periphery facilitates the use of new optical components and of new optical designs inside the microscope. Some results of this fruitful reflection are presented in this symposium.We have considered the polarized light microscope, and developed a design that replaces the traditional compensator, typically a birefringent crystal plate, with a precision universal compensator made of two liquid crystal variable retarders. A video camera and digital image processing system provide fast measurements of specimen anisotropy (retardance magnitude and azimuth) at ALL POINTS of the image forming the field of view. The images document fine structural and molecular organization within a thin optical section of the specimen.


Author(s):  
D. R. Abrahamson ◽  
P. L. St.John ◽  
E. W. Perry

Antibodies coupled to tracers for electron microscopy have been instrumental in the ultrastructural localization of antigens within cells and tissues. Among the most popular tracers are horseradish peroxidase (HRP), an enzyme that yields an osmiophilic reaction product, and colloidal gold, an electron dense suspension of particles. Some advantages of IgG-HRP conjugates are that they are readily synthesized, relatively small, and the immunolabeling obtained in a given experiment can be evaluated in the light microscope. In contrast, colloidal gold conjugates are available in different size ranges and multiple labeling as well as quantitative studies can therefore be undertaken through particle counting. On the other hand, gold conjugates are generally larger than those of HRP but usually can not be visualized with light microscopy. Concern has been raised, however, that HRP reaction product, which is exquisitely sensitive when generated properly, may in some cases distribute to sites distant from the original binding of the conjugate and therefore result in spurious antigen localization.


Author(s):  
Alan N. Hodgson

The hermaphrodite duct of pulmonate snails connects the ovotestis to the fertilization pouch. The duct is typically divided into three zones; aproximal duct which leaves the ovotestis, the middle duct (seminal vesicle) and the distal ovotestis duct. The seminal vesicle forms the major portion of the duct and is thought to store sperm prior to copulation. In addition the duct may also play a role in sperm maturation and degredation. Although the structure of the seminal vesicle has been described for a number of snails at the light microscope level there appear to be only two descriptions of the ultrastructure of this tissue. Clearly if the role of the hermaphrodite duct in the reproductive biology of pulmonatesis to be understood, knowledge of its fine structure is required.Hermaphrodite ducts, both containing and lacking sperm, of species of the terrestrial pulmonate genera Sphincterochila, Levantina, and Helix and the marine pulmonate genus Siphonaria were prepared for transmission electron microscopy by standard techniques.


Author(s):  
Rudolf Oldenbourg

The polarized light microscope has the unique potential to measure submicroscopic molecular arrangements dynamically and non-destructively in living cells and other specimens. With the traditional pol-scope, however, single images display only those anisotropic structures that have a limited range of orientations with respect to the polarization axes of the microscope. Furthermore, rapid measurements are restricted to a single image point or single area that exhibits uniform birefringence or other form of optical anisotropy, while measurements comparing several image points take an inordinately long time.We are developing a new kind of polarized light microscope which combines speed and high resolution in its measurement of the specimen anisotropy, irrespective of its orientation. The design of the new pol-scope is based on the traditional polarized light microscope with two essential modifications: circular polarizers replace linear polarizers and two electro-optical modulators replace the traditional compensator. A video camera and computer assisted image analysis provide measurements of specimen anisotropy in rapid succession for all points of the image comprising the field of view.


Author(s):  
Walter C. McCrone

An excellent chapter on this subject by V.D. Fréchette appeared in a book edited by L.L. Hench and R.W. Gould in 1971 (1). That chapter with the references cited there provides a very complete coverage of the subject. I will add a more complete coverage of an important polarized light microscope (PLM) technique developed more recently (2). Dispersion staining is based on refractive index and its variation with wavelength (dispersion of index). A particle of, say almandite, a garnet, has refractive indices of nF = 1.789 nm, nD = 1.780 nm and nC = 1.775 nm. A Cargille refractive index liquid having nD = 1.780 nm will have nF = 1.810 and nC = 1.768 nm. Almandite grains will disappear in that liquid when observed with a beam of 589 nm light (D-line), but it will have a lower refractive index than that liquid with 486 nm light (F-line), and a higher index than that liquid with 656 nm light (C-line).


1998 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leo G. Henry ◽  
J.H. Mazur

Abstract The task of differentiating precisely between EOS and ESD failures continues to be a challenging one for Failure Analysis Engineers. Electrical OverStress (EOS) failures on the die surface (burnt/fused metallization) of an IC can be characterized mainly by the discoloration at the site of the failures. This is in direct contrast to the lack of discoloration characteristic of ESD failures, which occur almost exclusively below the die surface (oxide and junction failures). To aid in this distinction, this paper attempts to present the underlying physics behind the discoloration produced in the EOS failures. For the EOS failures, the metal fuses due to the longer pulse widths (sec to msec), while for the ESD failures, the silicon melts because of the shorter pulse widths (< < 500 nsec) and higher energy. After EOS, the aluminum surface becomes dark and rough and the oxide in the surrounding area becomes deformed and distorted, resulting in the discoloration observed in the light microscope. This EOS discoloration could be due to one or more of the following: 1) morphological and structural changes at the metal/glass interface and the glass itself; 2) changes in the thickness and scattering behavior of the glass and metal in the failed areas.


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