Thin Sectioning: Details of Techniques

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Abstract
In order to obtain good quality thin sections for use in the electron microscope, knives, whose edges are smooth and free from but one striation, are broken from lime plate-glass strips, 0.25 inch thick and 1.5 inches wide, by means of a steel disc glass cutter, steel ruler, and pliers. The angle of the cutting edge should be 70-80[degree]. After the knife is soaked in chromic acid, a boat is attached to it by melted paraffin and filled with a 20-30% solution of acetone. In its cutting position, the side of the knife facing the block is nearly vertical (5-10[degree]). Sections 200-500 A thick are "scraped" not cut from the block whose face is routinely trimmed to dimensions of approximately 0.6 mm by 0.4 mm. Serial sections are cut from slightly smaller faces and mounted on the grids directly from the boat The Porter Blum thermal advance or automatic advance microtomes are simpler and seem to perform more satisfactorily than the Sjostrand model.