title: A new integrated concept for the improved preparation of sections of fresh or frozen tissue for light microscope histochemistry.
abstract: In order to obtain thin sections of plant tissues which combined good morphological preservation and the preservation of the substances and enzyme activities in the tissues, a concept of section preparation by external stabilization was developed. The main components are as follows: appropriate supporting medium; surface coating before each sectioning process, the coating being either non-permanent, permanent, or semi-permanent; suitable techniques for affixing the coated sections to the slides using either pressure-sensitive adhesive or solvent-based adhesive; and mounting media with defined refractive indices (preferably UV-curable, water-soluble monomers). By this approach, sections exhibiting excellent morphological and physiological preservation were obtained using either a cryostat at -30 degrees C or a rotary microtome at room temperature.
mesh_terms: D000269:Adhesives; D005404:Fixatives; D005629:Frozen Sections; D006651:Histocytochemistry / Q000379:methods*; D008867:Microtomy / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*; D011108:Polymers; D014197:Trees
chemical_list: D000269:Adhesives; D005404:Fixatives; D011108:Polymers