Scanning electron microscopic observation of the epidermal basement membrane with osmium conductive metal coating.

Osmium conductive metal coating was performed for the scanning electron microscopic observation of the epidermal basement membrane. An extremely thin osmium coating induced the equivalent electrical conductivity as that of a thick platinum coating. As a result, by this coating, the resolution was only nominally reduced. The meshwork structure of the lamina densa and the three-dimensional morphology of the anchoring fibrils were observed in detail. Scanning electron microscopic observation of the osmium-coated specimen coincided with that of the transmission electron microscopic observations. It was evident that the osmium conductive metal coating is much more advantageous than the other coatings for obtaining high resolution images on the observations of the fine structures, such as the epidermal basement membrane.