Cryo-ultramicrotomy as a tool for the assessment of doxorubicine cardiotoxicity in rats.

Cryo-ultramicrotomy was tested as a tool for the assessment of cardiac damage induced by doxorubicine in rats. Slightly fixed specimens were cut at -80 or -90 degrees C (knife temperature -60 or -70 degrees C), and the ultrastructural changes observed were compared with those found in conventional epoxy sections. It is concluded that the cryo method, although using more elaborate equipment and being more painstaking, might yield more sensitive parameters for cardiac damage than epoxy sections.