Freeze-substitution: Origins and applications
Freeze-substitution is a physicochemical process in which biological specimens are immobilized and stabilized for microscopy. Water frozen within cells is replaced by organic solvents at subzero temperatures. Freeze-substitution is widely used for ultrastructural and immunocytochemical analyses of c...
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Published in | International Review of Cytology Vol. 206; pp. 45 - 96 |
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Main Author | |
Format | Book Chapter Journal Article |
Language | English |
Published |
United States
Elsevier Science & Technology
2001
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Subjects | |
Online Access | Get full text |
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Summary: | Freeze-substitution is a physicochemical process in which biological specimens are immobilized and stabilized for microscopy. Water frozen within cells is replaced by organic solvents at subzero temperatures. Freeze-substitution is widely used for ultrastructural and immunocytochemical analyses of cells by transmission and scanning electron microscopy. Less well recognized is its superiority over conventional chemical fixation in preserving labile and rare tissue antigens for immunocytochemistry by light microscopy. In the postgenome era, the focus of molecular genetics will shift from analyzing DNA sequence structure to elucidating the function of gene networks, the intercellular effects of polygenetic diseases, and the conformational rearrangements of proteins in situ. Novel strategies will be needed to integrate knowledge of chemical structures of normal and abnormal macromolecules with the physiology and developmental biology of cells and tissues from whole organisms. This review summarizes the progress and future prospects of freeze-substitution for such explorations. |
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Bibliography: | ObjectType-Article-2 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-3 content type line 23 ObjectType-Review-1 |
ISBN: | 0123646103 9780123646101 |
ISSN: | 0074-7696 2163-5854 |
DOI: | 10.1016/S0074-7696(01)06019-3 |