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Fixation and Sectioning

Fixation and Sectioning

Two basic types of preparation are used to visualize specimens with a light microscope: wet mounts and fixed specimens.
The simplest type of preparation is the wet mount, in which the specimen is placed in a drop of liquid on the slide. A liquid specimen can be directly deposited on the slide using a dropper. Solid specimens, such as skin scraping, can be placed on the slide before adding a drop of liquid to prepare the wet mount. Sometimes the liquid is simply water, but stains are often added...

Preparation of Samples for Electron Microscopy

Preparation of Samples for Electron Microscopy

To be visualized by an electron microscope, either transmission or scanning, biological samples need to be fixed (stabilized) so the electron beam does not destroy them and dried thoroughly (desiccated/dehydrated) so the vacuum does not affect them. Fixation needs to be done as quickly as possible because the sample properties will start changing as soon as it is removed from its natural environment. For example, in a tissue sample, the oxygen levels begin decreasing, causing an altered...

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 4, 2026

Microscopy Techniques for Interpreting Fungal Colonization in Mycoheterotrophic Plants Tissues and Symbiotic Germination of Seeds

Microscopy Techniques for Interpreting Fungal Colonization in Mycoheterotrophic Plants Tissues and Symbiotic Germination of Seeds

Published on: May 17, 2022

Processing plant tissues for ultrastructural study.

¹Centre for Microscopy, Characterization and Analysis, The University of Western Australia, Crawley, WA, Australia.

Methods in Molecular Biology (Clifton, N.J.)

|December 21, 2013

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Preparing plant tissues for transmission electron microscopy involves chemical fixation or cryo-methods. Special techniques are needed to overcome challenges posed by plant cell walls and vacuoles for accurate ultrastructure analysis.

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Area of Science:

Plant biology
Microscopy techniques
Cellular ultrastructure

Background:

Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) requires meticulous specimen preparation.
Plant tissues present unique challenges for TEM preparation due to cell walls, cuticle, intercellular gases, and vacuoles.
Standard animal tissue preparation protocols often need modification for plant samples.

Purpose of the Study:

To review conventional and microwave-assisted chemical fixation methods for plant tissues.
To discuss cryo-specimen preparation techniques for plant ultrastructure.
To highlight challenges and modifications in preparing plant specimens for TEM.

Main Methods:

Conventional chemical fixation with modifications (e.g., vacuum application).
Microwave-assisted chemical fixation.
Cryo-specimen preparation: high-pressure freezing and freeze-substitution.

Main Results:

Chemical fixation methods (conventional and microwave) can introduce artifacts.
Vacuum application during fixation and infiltration aids in gas removal from plant tissues.
Cryo-methods minimize artifacts but have limitations with highly vacuolated or thick-walled cells.

Conclusions:

Optimized protocols are essential for accurate plant tissue ultrastructure analysis via TEM.
Both chemical and cryo-methods have advantages and limitations for plant specimen preparation.
Further refinement of techniques is needed to overcome specific plant tissue challenges.