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Magnesium Acetate: A Divalent Light-Atom Cationic Negative Stain

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 July 2020

William H. Massover
William H. Massover*
Affiliation:
Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, UMDNJ - New Jersey Medical School, Newark, N.J., 07103, USA
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Extract

Negative staining is very useful, but typically produces a resolution level of 20-25A and thus reveals only the quaternary level of protein structure. The recent finding that heavy metals are not required to obtain sufficient contrast for direct TEM imaging has led to examinations of various light atom compounds in a search for new unconventional staining agents having improved properties that can lead to higher resolution. This report examines whether the acetate salt of a divalent cation, magnesium, can function successfully for experimental negative staining.

Magnesium acetate (Mg(C2H3O2)2˙4H2O) (F.W. = 214.5) was used as an aqueous solution at 200mM. Bovine liver catalase crystals were examined as test specimens under standardized conditions. Suspended crystals were deposited onto a hydrophilic thin carbon supporting film and then were negatively stained by the on-grid procedure described previously. Imaging at l00kV used a JEOL 100-CX transmission electron microscope with Kodak S0-163 film.

Type
Biological Specimen Preparation/Cytochemistry/ Immunolabeling/Immunocytochemistry
Information
Microscopy and Microanalysis , Volume 6 , Issue S2: Proceedings: Microscopy & Microanalysis 2000, Microscopy Society of America 58th Annual Meeting, Microbeam Analysis Society 34th Annual Meeting, Microscopical Society of Canada/Societe de Microscopie de Canada 27th Annual Meeting, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania August 13-17, 2000 , August 2000 , pp. 478 - 479
Copyright
Copyright © Microscopy Society of America

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References

References:

1.Massover, W. H. and Marsh, P.. Ultramicroscopy 69(1997)139.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
2.Massover, W. H. and Marsh, P.. Ms. submitted (2000).Google Scholar
3. This investigation was supported in part by research grant GM57948 from the National Institutes of Health (USPHS, DHHW).Google Scholar