Home > Specimen Preparation > Archives
Freeze-fracture and freeze-etch are techniques that lends themselves to studies of cell membranes. The sample is rapidly frozen and inserted into the Balzer freeze fracture apparatus chambers, which has been pre-cooled to -196 °C. The chamber is pumped to a low vacuum and the sample cleaved. The surface can immediately be etched and coated at an angle with platinum and rotary shadowed with carbon to create a replica of the surface. The replica must be cleaned, and is then viewed in the transmission electron microscope. Lines of fracture generally follow membranes, thus permitting intra-membrane studies. This method has applications for the examination of samples with high lipid content, such as those studied by food scientists or for other investigators whose research goal is the morphology of micelles.
The CMIF freeze-fracture system consists of a Balzer 400T freeze-fracture machine, quartz crystal thickness monitor, rotary stage, electron beam guns, and turbo-molecular pumping system.
