Sample preparation for Scanning electron microscopy (SEM)Specimen Killing, Fixation, and Dehydration
Living specimens being prepared for scanning electron microscopy first need to be killed and fixed. This is usually done using a chemical fixative, such as glutaraldehyde and osmium. When applied in combination, typically glutaraldehyde fixation is used first. Concentrations of glutaraldehyde typically vary between 2% and 5% and are usually mixed with a buffer that operates at physiological pH. Two common choices, are phosphate buffers and cacodylate buffers, which are typically used at a concentration of approximately 0.05M and a pH of between 6.8 and 7.4. The goal of buffering the fixative is to provide an isotonic solution and to protect the biological tissue from becoming acidic, which frequently occurs during glutaraldehyde cross-linking. Killing may occur within the first several minutes of incubation in glutaraldehyde, but cross-linking of proteins through covalent bonds typically requires several hours to reach saturation in; therefore overnight fixation is not unusual. The specimen is then typically rinsed several times in their respective buffer, and transferred to buffered osmium tetroxide. Typically the same buffer and pH is used. Osmium fixation is usually conducted on ice or in the refrigerator for a shorter period of time, typically two hours. Use of warm osmium over a period of several hours can actually be used to extract some materials and expose internal surfaces by removing membranes. Following osmium fixation, water is chemically extracted from the specimen using a graded series of ethanol. Typically, the concentrations of ethanol used begin at 30% and proceed at 20% steps up to 70% followed by 10% changes to 100% ethanol. The final changes of ethanol must be conducted using anhydrous ethanol. Typically three changes of anhydrous ethanol are used.