A method for performing scanning electron microscopy of colonies growing in a human tumor cloning system

Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) is a valuable tool for examining cell surface morphology and cell-cell interactions. We used SEM to study 38 patients' tumors, representing 16 histological malignancies, growing in soft agar. Using our method, we obtained high quality micrographs without residual agar or preparation artifacts. We present our method for obtaining high quality SEM of tumor colonies growing in soft agar, which provides micrographs free of debris and necrotic host tissue.