Comparison of microwave and convective heating in rapid specimen preparation techniques for electron microscopy

Author

Leonard, J.B. ; Shepardson, S.P.

Author_Institution

Saginaw Valley State Univ., University Center, MI, USA

fYear

1992

fDate

1-5 June 1992

Firstpage

1263

Abstract

Chemical fixatives preserve tissue for electron microscopy. Microwave heating (MWH) reduces fixation time from hours to seconds. Comparison of microwave heating (915 MHz and 2.45 GHz) with convective heating suggests that acceleration of fixation is not unique to microwave exposure. Other heating modes appear suitable and may have advantages in cost and convenience. It is demonstrated that equally good fixation can be obtained by raising the temperature of specimens in glutaraldehyde to 40-45 degrees C in a short time interval (10-60 s) via MWH or convective heating (CH). The results suggest that heat is the primary cause of the reduced fixation times associated with MWH and that the heating mode is secondary.<>

Keywords

biological specimen preparation; electron microscopy; radiofrequency heating; 10 to 60 s; 2450 MHz; 40 to 45 C; 915 MHz; acceleration of fixation; chemical fixatives; convective heating; electron microscopy; fixation time; glutaraldehyde; microwave heating; specimen preparation techniques; Dielectrics; Electromagnetic heating; Electron microscopy; Laboratories; Microwave ovens; Microwave theory and techniques; Resonance; Sugar; Temperature measurement; Transmitters;

fLanguage

English

Publisher

ieee

Conference_Titel

Microwave Symposium Digest, 1992., IEEE MTT-S International

Conference_Location

Albuquerque, NM, USA

ISSN

0149-645X

Print_ISBN

0-7803-0611-2

Type

conf

DOI

10.1109/MWSYM.1992.188231

Filename

188231