Combined high resolution electron microscopy and electron probe X-ray microanalysis and its applications to medicine and biology

Abstract

The basic principles employed in combining high resolution electron microscopy with electron probe X-ray microanalysis are outlined and a short description given of the only commercially available instrument, EMMA 4. Methods of preparing specimens and the advan tages of using ultra-thin frozen sections for chemical analyses are briefly considered. The applications of the technique to various branches of medicine and biology, based on the use of EMMA 4, are discussed. The fine structure of cells and tissues can be correlated in situ with both a qualitative and quantitative analysis of the chemical elements they contain with an accuracy that cannot be obtained with any other form of instrumentation. The technique has obvious implications in investigative medicine as well as in other fields of medical and biological research.