Biological Tissue and Cell Culture Specimen Preparation for TEM Nanoparticle Characterization

This chapter outlines the procedures for ex vivo TEM preparation of nanoparticle-containing tissue or cell culture samples using an epoxy resin embedding method. The purpose of this procedure is to preserve the structure of tissue in a hardened epoxy block with minimal disruption of cellular structures, to aid in the meaningful analysis of in vivo or cell culture experiments. The process begins with hydrated tissue and ends with tissue that is virtually water-free and preserved in a static state within a plastic resin matrix. The resin mixture permeates the dehydrated tissue, making the sample firm enough to cut. Procedures are also given for fixing nanoparticle-containing cell culture samples.