Related Experiment Video
Updated: Sep 18, 2025

Tandem High-pressure Freezing and Quick Freeze Substitution of Plant Tissues for Transmission Electron Microscopy
Published on: October 13, 2014
Freeze-drying enhances ToF-SIMS imaging of biological tissues via structural and metabolic preservation
Hongzhe Ma1, Mingru Liu1, Yuxuan Zhang1
1Key Laboratory of Mass Spectrometry Imaging and Metabolomics (Minzu University of China), State Ethnic Affairs Commission, Center for Imaging and Systems Biology, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, Minzu University of China, Beijing, China. zhaoying.wang@muc.edu.cn.
Abstract:
In the ToF-SIMS in situ analysis of mouse liver tissue, freeze-drying is superior to room-temperature drying and chemical fixation, minimizing lipid spillage while maintaining structural integrity. Freeze-drying preserves tissue structure with minimal lipid loss, whereas room-temperature drying leads to lipid spreading and chemical fixation results in background noise. Freeze-drying balances structural integrity, molecular preservation, and spectral clarity, making it the optimal ToF-SIMS prep method. Although the method was tested on lipid-rich liver tissue, it provides a framework for tissue specific preparation of ToF-SIMS.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
Cryo-electron Microscopy
Preparation of Samples for Electron Microscopy
Fixation and Sectioning
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...

