Chemicals for Electron & Light Microscopy
Chemicals for Electron & Light Microscopy
| Hazard Warning Guides Used in Chemical Listings | ||
|---|---|---|
| Cg | = | Suspected Carcinogen |
| C | = | Corrosive |
| F | = | Flammable |
| I | = | Irritant |
| L | = | Lachrymator |
| O | = | Oxidizing |
| R | = | Radioactive |
| S | = | Sensitizer |
| T | = | Toxic |
| U | = | Unlisted as hazard; unknown hazard if any |
|
An extra shipping charge is required by the Carriers when hazardous goods are transported. |
||
Acetonitrile
Suggested substitute for Propylene Oxide. It is reported as noncarcinogenic, less toxic and not as flammable. High purity; miscible with water, alcohols, acetone and epoxy resins15.
15) Tarnowski BI, Schonbaum GR: Acetonitrile: substitute for propylene oxide in tissue processing for transmission electron microscopy. Proc 42nd Ann Meeting Elec Mic Soc Amer, p 38, 1984
Also used as a dehydrating agent for cells prepared for SEM: Holshek JG, Akins RE: Acetonitrile is better than ethanol as a dehydrating agent for cells prepared for SEM. Proc Mic Soc of Amer, 52nd Annual Mtg 1994, San Francisco Press, ed GW Bailey and AJ Garrett-Reed, pp 324-325, 1994
F, T - SDS (129KB PDF)
CH3CN; [75-05-08]; FW 41.05
Amylamine
19001
Also known as Pentylamine, 1-Aminopentane, n-Amylamine. Used in glow discharge treatment to make hydrophobic, positively charged surfaces.
Reference: Hayat, M.A.2000. Principles and Techniques of Electron Microscopy Biological Applications, page 237-241. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 052163287
CH3(CH2)4NH2; [110-58-7]; MW 87.16
C,F,I - SDS (701KB PDF)
PELCO® Technical Notes, Glow Discharge using Amylamine with the PELCO easiGlow™ (496KB PDF)
Araldite 502
Detailed description under Araldite 502 Kit.
I, T - SDS (129KB PDF)
Background Buster
Peptide blocker for removal of background staining
For use in: Immunohistochemistry, Immunofluorescence, In-situ probe staining
18722-50, 18722-125
Background staining or non specific staining is a common problem in immunohistochemistry, immunofluorescence and in-situ probe staining reducing the signal to noise ratio. Background Buster is a peptide blocker that eradicates all general background staining caused by primary antibodies, staining reagents, chromogens, fixatives, and endogenous biotin. Background Buster is used in place of normal sera and other blocking agents for removing background in both animal and human tissue staining. Eradicating background, thereby increasing the signal to noise ratio is important for obtaining background free specific staining for the ease of qualitative and quantitative evaluation of staining procedures.
Note: Nonspecific staining due to red blood cells is caused by endogenous peroxide enzyme in the red blood cells. This type of background requires a pre-treatment step with 3% hydrogen peroxide in water. This blocking step should precede the blocking step with Background Buster.
Benzoin Methyl Ether
UV Catalyst for Prod. No. 18183 LR Gold; use at 0.5% w/v, ~365nm.
[3524-62-7]; MW 226.3
T, I - SDS (99KB PDF)
Benzyldimethylamine
(BDMA) N,N-Dimethylbenzylamine Catalyst for epoxy resins. Has lower viscosity compared to DMP-30. (Also stores longer.)
C6H5CH2N(CH3)2; [103-83-3]; FW 135.21
C, T, I, F - SDS (137KB PDF)
Cacodylic Acid, Sodium Salt, trihydrate
Arsenic compound. Highly toxic. Hygroscopic.
(CH3)2As(O)ONa-3H2O; [124-65-2]; FW 214.02;UN1688
T (highly) - SDS (153KB PDF)
Citifluor Mountant Media
Complete description, micrograph examples and prices on Citifluor Antifade Mounting Medium
Cresyl (Fast) Violet, Certified
(Cresyl Violet Acetate) Solubility: 0.13% water
C18H15N3O3 [10510-54-0] FW 312.34
U - SDS (104KB PDF)
DAPI, fluorescent Dye
Cell permeable fluorescent minor grove-binding probe for DNA (powder).
4',6-Diamidino-2-phenylindole Dihydrochloride:Hydrate
C16H15N5•2HCl; [28718-90-3]; FW 350.3
I - SDS (107KB PDF)
Diglycidyl Ether of Poly (propylene glycol) (DER 736)
[41638-13-5]; Specific gravity 1.14.; Epoxy flexibilizer; Viscosity 33.6; Cp @ 25°C.
I - SDS (104KB PDF)
2-Dimethylaminoethanol (DMAE)
C4H11NO; [108-01-0]; FW 89.14
C, L - SDS (141KB PDF)
2,4,6-Tri[Dimethylaminomethyl]phenol) (DMP-30)
Tertiary amine accelerator.
Inactivated by water. Store in dark in vacuum desiccator.
[90-70-2]; FW 265.0
I - SDS (117KB PDF)
Dodecenyl Succinic Anhydride (DDSA)
Double-distilled. Moisture sensitive. Hardener for epoxy resins. Viscosity 290-295cP, density 1.005g/ml.
[26544-38-7]; FW 266.38
I - SDS (134KB PDF)
Eponate 12™ Resin
Substitute for "Epon®" recipes and our Medcast. Excellent results with traditional EM specimen block preparations. WPE 140-150. Viscosity @ 25°'C 130-170cP. Specific Gravity 1.24. Moisture sensitive.
[25038-04-4]
I, Cg - SDS (92KB PDF)
1,2-epoxypropane (see Propylene Oxide below) - SDS (145KB PDF)
ERL 4221 Epoxide Resin
A Cycloaliphatic Epoxide Resin specially formulated to take the place of ERL 4206 which is no longer available.
C14H20O4; [2386-87-0; 2611-00-9]; FW 1.173
Cg - SDS (95KB PDF)
Ethyl Alcohol, Anhydrous
C2H5OH; [64-17-5]; FW 46.07
F,T - SDS (166KB PDF)
Formaldehyde, 37%
Histological Fixative
(35 - 38% Formaldehyde, 10 - 15% Methanol)
Cg, T (highly) - SDS (181KB PDF)
PELCO® Technical Notes, Formaldehyde, Formalin (PDF)
Formalin, 10% Neutral Buffered
Histological Fixative. Phosphate Buffer. pH 6.9 - 7.1 at 25°C.
Note: ACS Reagent Grade Formalin (35 - 38% Formaldehyde, 10 - 15% Methanol) larger quantities available on request.
Cg, T (highly) - SDS (129KB PDF)
PELCO® Technical Notes, Formaldehyde, Formalin (PDF)
Formvar®
see Vinylec® (Formvar® substitute) below
Gelatin, Purified
Coating glass slides - adhesive. Cryosectioning16.
16) Hartmann R: A new embedding medium for cryosectioning eggs of high yolk and lipid content. Eur J Cell Biol, 34, 206, 1984
[9000-70-8]
U - SDS (102KB PDF)
Glutaraldehyde
18420, 21, 22, 26, 27, 31, 32, 36
Click here to see
Ampoule Breakers
18420: C,T,L -
18420: C,T,L - SDS (144KB PDF)
18421: C,T,L - SDS (144KB PDF)
18422: C,T,L - SDS (144KB PDF)
18426: C,T,L - SDS (139KB PDF)
18427: C,T,L - SDS (139KB PDF)
18431: C,T,L - SDS (179KB PDF)
18432: C,T,L - SDS (163KB PDF)
18436: C,T,L - SDS (154KB PDF)
GridStick™ Adhesive
Used to adhere SynapTek™ grids to the GridStick™.
F, I, T - SDS (221KB PDF)
Hexamethyldisilazane (HMDS)
Drying tissues for SEM. Stain Tech, 58(6), 347, 1983. Possible substitute for Peldri II®
(CH3)3SiNHSi(CH3)3; [999-97-3]; FW 161.40
C, F, I, T - SDS (155KB PDG)
JB-4® Plus Embedding Kit
18040
JB-4® Plus Embedding Kit for light microscopy is a water soluble, GMA based, plastic resin kit intended for use in the preparation of embedded samples for high resolution light microscopy. Its cooler acting accelerator system offers greater heat protection of tissue components. It yields semi-thin sections (0.5 - 2µm) with excellent morphological preservation. Crystal clear non-yellowing casts are obtained at room temperature in 90 minutes or less.
Monomer Solution A, 500ml (18043): F, I, T - SDS (124KB PDF)
Accelerator Solution B, 15ml (18044): F, I, T - SDS (88KB PDF)
Catalyst, 8g (18045): O - SDS (153KB PDF)
Benzoin Methyl Ether
UV Catalyst for Prod. No. 18183 LR Gold; use at 0.5% w/v, ~365nm.
[3524-62-7]; MW 226.3
T, I - SDS (99KB PDF)
LR Gold Resin
18183
Resin (acrylic) only, no catalyst included. Requires Catalyst Prod. No. 18186: UV, benzoin methyl ether SDS (99KB PDF) (~365nm) (0.5% w/v); "blue light", benzyl (~460nm) (0.1% w/v); benzoyl peroxide SDS (113KB PDF) (1% w/v), cold-cure. Accurate measurements of catalyst are very important. LR Gold can be used at low temperatures (-25°C) and has proven very useful for immunogold procedures. Very low viscosity: 8cP. Applied to both LM (enzyme histochemistry) and EM (immunochemistry) techniques.
Technical Notes (1,816KB PDF)
Lead Citrate, Trihydrate
Pb3(C6H5O7); 3H2O; [512-26-5]; FW 1053.82
19312: I, T - SDS (143KB PDF)
19314: I, T - SDS (143KB PDF)
NMA
Methyl-5-norbornene-2,3-dicarboxylic anhydride. Moisture sensitive. Viscosity 225-275cp, density 1.23g/cm³. Hardener for epoxy resins.
C10H10O3; [25134-21-8]; FW 178.19
C, I - SDS (110KB PDF)
NanoVan™ and Nano-W™ Pre-Made Negative Stains
14701, 14702
Originally intended for staining samples with gold nanoparticles, these convenient ready-to-use pre-made negative stains have been since utilized for many other applications, including pre-screening samples for cryo-EM. NanoVan™is based on vanadium and thus gives lighter staining, for best visibility of gold and silver nanoparticles in the sample. Nano-W® is tungsten-based and recommended for those cases when higher contrast is desired; it is comparable to PTA negative stain.
- Special organic compounds ensure better spreading and uniformity of the stain
- Dry without crystallization
- Perfect for visualizing macromolecules, edges of protein complexes, cells in suspension
- Allow the user to skip the time-consuming and hazardous task of weighing out the chemicals
Nonenyl Succinic Anhydride, (NSA)
Double-distilled. Epoxy resin hardener.
[28928-97-4]
I - SDS (100KB PDF)
Osmium Tetroxide
18459, 18466, 18463, 18465, 18450, 18451, 18456
Click here to see
Ampoule Breakers
Solid vaporizes by sublimation. Should be used only under the hood. Affects eyes. Use eye protection.
EM Grade, glass ampoules in black paper. No sticky labels. Osmium purity >99.95%. Light sensitive.
Special note on handling Osmium Tetroxide (reference 5, appendices A:2.5, "Books" , Procedures in Electron Microscopy)
"Great care must be taken with osmium tetroxide. The crystals melt at 40°C and are extremely slow to dissolve in water. Both the crystals and diluted aqueous solutions give off fumes of osmium tetroxide, even at 0°C. It has an extremely low TLV (0.0002ppm). Osmium fixatives must therefore always be handled in a fume hood (cupboard), and because they act so rapidly, skin contact must be avoided at all times."
TLV= Eight hour average Threshold Limit Value measured in milligrams per cubic meter of air.
OsO4; [20816-12-0]; FW 254.20
18459: O, T (highly) - SDS (152KB PDF)
18466: O, T (highly) - SDS (152KB PDF)
18463: O, T (highly) - SDS (104KB PDF)
18465: O, T (highly) - SDS (152KB PDF)
18450: O, T (highly) - SDS (149KB PDF)
18451: O, T (highly) - SDS (149KB PDF)
18456: O, T (highly) - SDS (149KB PDF) (crystal)
Paraformaldehyde, 16% (Aqueous)
EM grade. Paraformaldehyde aqueous solution (methanol free). Pre-scored amber ampules of 10ml sealed under inert gas or bottle of 100ml.
HCHO; [50-00-0]; FW 30.03
Cg, T (highly) - SDS (129KB PDF)
PELCO® Technical Notes, Formaldehyde, Formalin (29KB PDF)
Paraformaldehyde, EM Grade (Pellets)
Fixative. Polyoxymethylene. White free-flowing solid pellet (prill) with strong, pungent formaldehyde odor. Avoid strong oxidizing agents, temperatures above 38°C.
Karnovsky MJ: A formaldehyde-glutaraldehyde fixative of high osmolarity for use in electron microscopy. J Cell Biol, 27, 137A, 1965
Note: Karnovsky's 1965 fixative contains 5% glutaraldehyde and 4% formaldehyde in a sodium cacodylate buffer and is very hypotonic (p. 5:1.17, alternative solution strength and formulation suggested)5. (Reference 5, p. 64)
Robertson JD: The occurrence of a subunit pattern in the unit membranes of club endings in Maunther cell synapses in gold fish brain. J Cell Bio, 19, 201, 1963
(HO(CH2O)nH; [30525-89-4]; FW~600
T, F, I, Cg - SDS (145KB PDF)
PELCO® Pro CA44 Tissue Adhesive
10033
PELCO® Pro CA44 is an instant tissue adhesive based on cyanoacrylate. Developed to glue tissue on specimen holders used in vibrating microtomes such as the PELCO easiSlicer™, Microslicer™ and Vibratome®. Although the tissue adhesive is unstable in boiling water, it is recommended to use#19920 PELCO® Pro Cyanoacrylate Debonder to remove or clean cured cyanoacrylate. Supplied in 20ml bottle with dispenser tip, closed with ptfe coated steel pin for optimum seal. Comparable to Loctite 404 tissue adhesive.
The shelf life of cyanoacrylate glues (and epoxies) can be extended by storing them at lower temperatures; -20°C. At lower temperatures, the adhesive becomes very viscous and the speed of chemical reactions is practically reduced to zero. It will keep the adhesive stable for years. Before use, let the adhesive thaw with the container sealed to avoid condensation into the adhesive.
I - SDS (213KB PDF)
Cyanoacrylate Brand Cross Reference and Technical Data
PELCO® Pro Cyanoacrylate Debonder
19920
The PELCO® Pro Cyanoacrylate Debonder destabilizes and debonds cured cyanoacrylates. Useful for releasing specimens from holders, cleaning cyanoacrylates from surfaces and removing cured cyanoacylates from fingers. Works on all brands of cyanoacrylate glue (Loctite, Henkel, Permabond, 3M™, PELCO®, Aron Alpha, etc.). The debonder is also a solvent, please check before using on plastic surfaces / samples and avoid repeated skin contact. Supplied in 20ml bottle with dispenser tip.
The shelf life of cyanoacrylate glues (and epoxies) can be extended by storing them at lower temperatures; -20°C. At lower temperatures, the adhesive becomes very viscous and the speed of chemical reactions is practically reduced to zero. It will keep the adhesive stable for years. Before use, let the adhesive thaw with the container sealed to avoid condensation into the adhesive.
F, Cg, I, T - SDS (96KB PDF)
Cyanoacrylate Brand Cross Reference and Technical Data
Phosphotungstic Acid, Reagent (PTA)
12WO3H3PO4; xH2O; [12067-99-1]; FW 2880
T, C - SDS (176KB PDF)
Pioloform® Powder
Substrate component. Water-insoluble. Good thermal and mechanical stability. Because of small mass thickness, electron scattering within the film is low. 0.3-1.5% solution in chloroform, filtered through filter paper.
I - SDS (108KB PDF)
Poly-L-Lysine
0.1% w/v aqueous solution; preservative. Adhesive for tissue sections on glass slides. Immunohistochemical techniques, gold labeling, microwave procedures.
U - SDS (81KB PDF)
PELCO® Technical Notes, Poly-L-Lysine (169KB PDF)
Propylene Oxide, EM Grade
1,2-epoxypropane. Must use under hood, and with all caution. Extremely low vapor pressure. "Since epoxy resins are soluble in ethanol and acetone, dehydration is commonly carried out with one of these solvents. Because epoxy resins are more readily soluble in propylene oxide. This solvent is frequently used immediately prior to infiltration with the resin. Most resins are not readily miscible with ethanol". Propylene Oxide does not separate from the epoxy resin during curing, thus small amounts left in the resin do no harm.
Luft introduced Propylene Oxide into epoxy mixtures with his landmark paper and helped bring about improved embedding cures, better ultrastructural research results with blocks that would more reliably section and give better performance under the EM beam by reducing viscosity and increasing penetration.
CH3CHCH2O [75-56-9] FW 58.08
Cg, F, I Special Caution - SDS (145KB PDF)
Ruthenium Red
[(NH3)5 RuoRu(NH3) 4 ORu(NH3)5]Cl6 · 4H2O
[11103-72-3]; FW 786.36
I - SDS (104KB PDF)
Sodium Hydroxide, Pellets, Reagent, ACS
NaOH, [1310-73-2]; FW 40
C, T - SDS (125KB PDF)
Sodium Hydroxide, 2N Solution, carbonate-free
Normality 1.982.02, pH 8.6. Recommended: Bils RF: Electron Microscopy Laboratory Manual and Handbook, 2nd ed., 1992, p 154.
NaOH; [1310-73-2]; FW 40
C, T - SDS (116KB PDF)
Sodium Phosphate, monobasic, anhydrous, Reagent, ACS
Hygroscopic.
NaH2PO4 ; [7558-80-7]; FW 119.98
I - SDS (122KB PDF)
Sodium Phosphate, dibasic, heptahydrate, Reagent, ACS
Na2HPO4 · 7H2O; [7782-85-6]; FW 268.07
I - SDS (123KB PDF)
Toluidine Blue O
For epoxy sections:
0.5% toluidine blue in 0.1% sodium carbonate solution at pH 11.1
For methacrylate/acrylic sections:
0.05% toluidine blue in benzoate buffer pH 4.4 (benzoic acid 0.25g, sodium benzoate 0.29g, water 200ml). p 5:3.11, "Procedures in Electron Microscopy".
C15H16CLN3 S; [92-31-9]
I, T - SDS (122KB PDF)
Uranyl Acetate
19481
Positive or negative stain, EM. May cause adverse mutagenic or teratogenic effects.
UO2(CH3COO)2 - 2H2O; [6159-44-0]; FW 424.14
T, R - SDS (162KB PDF)
PELCO® Technical Notes, Uranium Salts for Staining, Uranyl Acetate (pdf)
Uranyl Acetate Alternative
A Gadolinium Triacetate based stain as an alternative for Uranyl Acetate stain. Delivers comparable results without the authorization, shipping and disposal issue involved with Uranyl Acetate. Uranyl Acetate alternative is a non-radioactive stain; supplied as a concentrate. Works well for staining of plastic embedded animal and plant materials and a negative stain for macromolecules. Not recommended as a fixative.
Reference article: Masamichi Nakakoshi, Hedeo Nishioka and Eisaku Katayama. New versatile staining reagents for biological transmission electron microscopy that substitute for uranyl acetate. Journal of Electron Microscopy 60(6): 401-407. 2011.
Vinylec® E
(Formvar® substitute)
Vinylec® E is a drop in substitute for Formvar® (polyvinyl formal). The original manufacturer (Monsanto) has sold parts of the business and the similar replacement product is now manufactured under the name Vinylec® E.
Vinylec® E (Formvar® substitute) is an excellent and one of the most widely used material to make support films on TEM grids.
I - SDS (127KB PDF)
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