Backscattered electron imaging of human leukocytes.

Methods of backscattered electron imaging (BEI) have been applied to the study of normal and malignant human leukocytes. Four different elements, principally of high atomic number, have been used: iron, silver, lead and osmium. Iron, in the form of iron carbonyl, has been found to be an excellent marker for the phagocytic activity of granulocytes and monocytes. Silver staining permitted a clear observation of the shape of the nuclei and of the nucleo-cytoplasmic ratio and made the identification of polymorphonuclear cells and of certain normoblasts possible. Lead phosphate precipitates, deposited as a result of a classic acid phosphatase reaction, were detected in several cases of myelocytic and monocytic leukemias. Precipitates of osmium/diaminobenzidine complex on peroxidase-containing granules permitted the unambiguous identification of several classes of myeloid precursors. In all these techniques, the surface morphology of the cells was adequately preserved and could be correlated with the presence and/or the distribution of the various markers.