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US 12,224,154 B2Granted
Conductive fixation for electron microscopy
AssigneeUniversity of Kansas
InventorEduardo Rosa-Molinar
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Disclosed are compositions and methods for the conductive fixation of organic material, including biological samples. The compositions and methods described herein can address the problems of charging and sample damage caused by electron beam-sample interactions within an electron microscope.
Claims20
A method of preparing a biological sample for microanalysis, the method comprising:
- (i) contacting the biological sample with a freeze substitution solution comprising a lithium salt under conditions effective to permit permeation of the lithium salt into the biological sample;
- (ii) contacting the biological sample with a first polymerizable resin under conditions effective to permit permeation of the polymerizable resin into the biological sample;
- (iii) disposing the biological sample in a volume of a second polymerizable resin;
- and
- (iv) heating the so-prepared biological sample to a temperature effective to cure the first polymerizable resin and the second polymerizable resin, thereby forming a 3-dimensional conductive sample block;
- wherein the lithium salt is chosen from lithium trifluoromethanesulfonate, lithium carbonate, lithium hydroxide, lithium citrate, lithium nitrate, lithium benzoate, lithium formate, and combinations thereof.
3 more elements
A method of preparing a biological sample for microanalysis, the method comprising:
- (i) contacting the biological sample with a freeze substitution solution comprising a lithium salt under conditions effective to permit permeation of the lithium salt into the biological sample;
- (ii) contacting the biological sample with a first polymerizable resin under conditions effective to permit permeation of the polymerizable resin into the biological sample;
- (iii) disposing the biological sample in a volume of a second polymerizable resin;
- and
- (iv) heating the so-prepared biological sample to a temperature effective to cure the first polymerizable resin and the second polymerizable resin, thereby forming a 3-dimensional conductive sample block;
- wherein the lithium salt consists of lithium trifluoromethanesulfonate, lithium carbonate, lithium hydroxide, lithium citrate, lithium nitrate, lithium benzoate, lithium formate, or any combination thereof.
3 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.