Scanning Electron Microscopy and X-Ray Microanalysis of Frozen-Hydrated Bulk Samples

Abstract

Living organisms normally contain a high concentration of water, thus when frozen-hydrated biological samples are examined this is the closest representation of the living state that is currently possible to obtain in the electron microscope. An exception is the “environmental microscope” (Danilatos and Postle 1982), but this has considerably more limitations in its use than the “low temperature microscope”. The methods and techniques of low temperature microscopy of bulk samples evolved for both morphological purposes (Echlin et al. 1970; Echlin 1971; Nei et al. 1972; Echlin and Moreton 1973; Nei et al. 1973; Tokunaga and Tokunaga 1973; Turner and Smith 1974; Robinson 1975; Echlin and Moreton 1976; Echlin and Burgess 1977; Echlin 1978; Echlin et al. 1979) and for X-ray microanalysis (Gehring et al. 1973; Marshall and Wright 1973; Gullasch and Kaufmann 1974; Echlin and Moreton 1974; Fuchs and Lindeman 1975; Brom-bach 1975; Lechene et al. 1975; Marshall 1975a,b; Forrest and Marshall 1976; Zierold 1976; Marshall 1977; Yeo et al. 1977; Fuchs et al. 1978a,b; Kramer and Preston 1978; Zierold and Schafer 1978; Echlin et al 1980; Fuchs and Fuchs 1980; Marshall 1980a,b; Echlin et al. 1981; Marshall 1981; Marshall 1982; Marshall 1984 a; Marshall and Condron 1985a,b; Marshall et al. 1985 b; Echlin and Taylor 1986).