Microwave processing for scanning electron microscopy.

The normal processing of biological samples for Scanning Electron Microscopy, includes treatment with aldehyde (1 to 2 hours), postfixation with Osmium (1 hour), followed by dehydration in a ascending grade of ethanol (30 a 100%), 10 to 15 minutes in each step, and finally drying. This procedure takes at least 8 hours. In this work, samples of mosquitoes (Aedes), protozoa (Tritrichomonas muris), bacteria (Clostridium oceanicum), murine liver, and small intestine were processed in the same manner in a domestic microwave oven for two minutes at 20% of its maximum power. The complete procedure from the initial fixation to dehydration in 100% ethanol was reduced to one hour with good preservation of the ultrastructural details of the specimens.