2023 Volume 58 Issue 3 Pages 123-127
Serial semi-thin sections are useful for sample preparation for array tomography and CLEM observation, but they have the problem of frequent wrinkling when attached to substrates such as glass slides and silicon wafers by pulling up a diagonally placed substrate or by dropping water levels. In the case of ultra-thin sections, this method rarely causes wrinkling, but in the case of semi-thin sections, wrinkling is thought to occur due to insufficient stretching of the sections. In this research, we developed a new device that transfers a large number of serial semi-thin sections floating on water from a diamond knife with a large boat while retaining the water necessary for stretching onto a hot plate at once, and heats and extends the sections while keeping them in place. A glass slide with a water-repellent frame is placed on the device, and placed horizontally on a knife boat and sunk in water. After sectioning, the floating sections in the frame are lifted vertically by the device and can be moved directly onto the hotplate. This method enables to obtain a wide range of sequential tissue images without wrinkles and a detailed three-dimensional analysis of the distribution of intracellular organelles and cellular structures.
