title: Fixation for biological ultrastructure. II. Cross-linking of bovine serum albumin by nanosecond pulses of ionizing radiation.
abstract: Very large doses of ionizing radiation were delivered quickly to concentrated albumin solutions by pulses of 500 keV in air. The electrons penetrated the aluminium foil bottom of the test cell and into the solution. A dose of 4.6 Mrad (4.6 x 10(4) Gy) produced a gel in the albumin solution comparable to the long-term effect of 0.36% glutaraldehyde in the same albumin solution. The cross-links created by the radiation leading to gel formation are probably irreversible and quite different from those leading to gelation in the glutaraldehyde-albumin reaction. Single large pulses of ionizing radiation may be useful for fast fixation of cells and tissues for microscopy.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Structure, University of Washington, Seattle 98195.
authors.forename: J H
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Luft
mesh_terms: D004867:Equipment Design; D005976:Glutaral; D011108:Polymers; D011829:Radiation Dosage; D011839:Radiation, Ionizing; D012710:Serum Albumin, Bovine / Q000737:chemistry / Q000528:radiation effects*; D016707:Tissue Fixation / Q000379:methods*; D014783:Viscosity
chemical_list: D011108:Polymers; D012710:Serum Albumin, Bovine; D005976:Glutaral