Microwave-Assisted Tissue Preparation for Rapid Fixation, Decalcification, Antigen Retrieval, Cryosectioning, and Immunostaining

Figure 2

Scanning electron micrographs of venous endothelial cells without (a) or with (b) microwave irradiation. Guinea pig venous blood vessels were fixed conventionally with 1/2 Karnovsky’s solution (a). Shrinkage of the smooth muscle cell layer occurred (a: arrows). After fixation with microwave irradiation, the flattened endothelial cell layer located in the inner surface of blood vessels was well-preserved (b). Arrows in (a) indicate the wavy artifacts caused by shrinkage of the smooth muscle cell layer. Compare (a) without microwave irradiation and (b) with microwave irradiation; the microwave irradiation showed good preservation of the endothelial cell layer morphology (b). Bar = 10 μm. See also [55].

(a)

(b)