Plastic embedding

Routine preparation of biological material for classical transmission electron microscopy (TEM) through fixation, embedding in epon and sectioning. The cells or tissue is fixed with glutaraldehyde, post-fixed with osmiumtetroxide, dehydrated with graded series of ethanol and embedded in Epon. Contrast is added in the form of heavy metals using Uranyl acetate. Specimen is sectioned in an ultra-microtome to cut thin sections (between 50-250 nm), suitable for the microscopy technique we want to use.   

The flat embedding technique is particularly suitable for cell monolayers cultured on glass coverslips. In this method, processing occurs while the cells remain attached to the coverslip, which is removed only after polymerization to ensure well-preserved morphology. This technique also allows for the processing of individual cells grown on MatTek dishes or coverslips.