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Improved Sectioning of Polymers Using an Oscillating Diamond Knife for Transmission Electron Microscopy

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 March 2018

J.D. Harris  and
J.S. Vastenhout
J.D. Harris
Affiliation:
The Dow Chemical Company, Midland, MI, USA
J.S. Vastenhout
Affiliation:
Dow Benelux B.V., Terneuzen, Netherlands

Extract

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Polymers are viscoelastic materials that can often deform during microtome sectioning. Similar to plastic embedded biological materials, many methods have been developed over the years to not only improve the image contrast of these materials but also to harden the material for improved sectioning during microtomy. Even with these improvements, a common artifact, compression, during the sectioning of this class of materials remains problematic.

Compression is caused by several factors: hardness of the sample, embedding media, wedge angle of the knife, interaction between the diamond and sample surface, section thickness and cutting speed. It has been found that reducing the knife angle from 45º to 35° leads to a reduction in compression. Recent efforts to further reduce the compression of ultra-thin sections have led to the invention of an oscillating diamond knife.

Type
Research Article
Information
Microscopy Today , Volume 14 , Issue 5 , September 2006 , pp. 20 - 21
Copyright
Copyright © Microscopy Society of America 2006

References

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