Rapid freezing and Freeze Substitution are one method of making cellular structure and organization appear closer to the natural state but this process can limit other avenues of investigation, such as immunohistochemical applications.

Dehydration of a sample, necessary for routine electron microscopy of biological tissue, can be a major source of artifact and in many cases inhibits antibody-antigen reactions essential for immunolabelling/gold labeling studies. If a method could be found to preserve the water content in the cell during the process, this would greatly increase the scope of investigations, and the work of Professor K.T. Tokuyasu provided this breakthrough.

Today, cryosectioning and labeling of tissues and cell cultures by the ‘Tokuyasu Technique’ is a routine application in many laboratories.

Cryo ultramicrotomy sectioning of both biological and industrial materials can be achieved with the LN Ultra, a liquid nitrogen-cooled cryo-chamber attachment for the PowerTome series of ultramicrotomes. Mounted onto the PowerTome, the LN Ultra provides optimal thermal stability necessary for producing cryosections.

Capable of holding temperatures from +40°C to -185°C, the stable environment of the LN Ultra is perfect for sectioning and planning a variety of samples. These may include rubber and soft polymers, or biological cells and tissues; used for example, for immunolabelling using the Tokuyasu technique or CEMOVIS (Cryo-Electron Microscopy of Vitreous Ice Sections).

Liquid Nitrogen consumption is very low, allowing for a size efficient 15.5-liter dewar, capable of providing a stable sectioning environment for up to nine hours, depending on your technique and application, thus saving your laboratory LN2 costs over less efficient systems.