Abstract
Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the characteristics of fixation procedures. The choice of the fixative itself is obviously of cardinal importance for the outcome of the study. More than 20 different chemicals are used as fixatives. Many of these are rarely applied, but a few, notably glutaraldehyde, paraformaldehyde, and osmium tetroxide, are used extensively. Each fixative gives a characteristic preservation that the investigator has to recognize. The properties of the fixatives are undoubtedly closely dependent on their ability to react with the chemical constituents of the biological matter. Glutaraldehyde, for example, reacts by cross-linking the polypeptide chains of proteins, whereas it does not react with lipids. Osmium tetroxide undergoes a very complex series of reactions with proteins as well as with many lipids. When comparing two fixatives, it is a priori impossible to decide which of two images is the truest to the organization in the living cell. To decide which fixative gives the most lifelike preservation, it is necessary to obtain additional information, for example, by comparing data obtained with different fixatives or by correlation to biochemical or physiological information.
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