Molecular Physiology and Biophysics, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, USA.
J Microsc. 2011 Sep;243(3):273-83. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2818.2011.03501.x. Epub 2011 Jul 19.
Silicon microchips with thin, electron transparent silicon nitride windows provide a sample support that accommodates both light-, and electron microscopy of whole eukaryotic cells in vacuum or liquid, with minimum sample preparation steps. The windows are robust enough that cellular samples can be cultured directly onto them, with no addition of a supporting film, and there is no need to embed or section the sample, as is typically required in electron microscopy. By combining two microchips, a microfluidic chamber can be constructed for the imaging of samples in liquid in the electron microscope. We provide microchip design specifications, a fabrication outline, instructions on how to prepare the microchips for biological samples, and examples of images obtained using different light and electron microscopy modalities. The use of these microchips is particularly advantageous for correlative light and electron microscopy.
带有薄的、电子透明氮化硅窗口的硅微芯片为样品提供了支持，可在真空或液体中对整个真核细胞进行光镜和电子显微镜观察，且只需最少的样品制备步骤。这些窗口足够坚固，可以直接在其上培养细胞样品，无需添加支撑膜，也无需像电子显微镜通常要求的那样对样品进行包埋或切片。通过组合两个微芯片，可以构建一个微流控室，用于在电子显微镜下对液体中的样品进行成像。我们提供微芯片设计规格、制造大纲、如何为生物样品准备微芯片的说明，以及使用不同的光镜和电子显微镜模式获得的图像示例。这些微芯片的使用对于相关的光镜和电子显微镜特别有利。
