Practical Guide to Using Cryoprotectants in Biological Sample Preparation at Cryogenic temperature for Electron Microscopic Studies

Cryo-fixation enables the preservation of the fine structures of intracellular organelles in a condition that is as close to their native state as possible compared with chemical fixation and room temperature processing. Fixation is the initial step for biological sample preparation in electron microscopy. This step is critically important because the goals of electron microscopic observation are fundamentally dependent on well-preserved specimens resulting from this fixation. In the present work, key components of cryo-fixation, cryoprotectants, are tested with various cell types of interest. The results show that dextran can be easily adapted for use with animal cells and cyanobacteria, whereas 1-hexadecene is applicable to plant and yeast cells. The current report provides useful information on the preparation of cryo-fixed biological specimens using high pressure freezing and freeze-substitution aimed at electron microscopic observation.