Ribbon form continuous ultrathin slice recovery jig for transmission electron microscope

Abstract

To provide a recovery jig for easily, accurately, and quickly recovering ribbon form continuous ultrathin slices (13) floating on a water surface (14) of a knife boat (15) in cutting order to a slit type grid (16).SOLUTION: A recovery method includes: attaching a main body (10) to a knife boat (15); cutting ribbon form continuous ultrathin slices (13); placing the ribbon form continuous ultrathin slices (13) floating on a water surface (14) into a ring (7) of a recovery tool (12); moving the water surface (14) in a protective recovery hole (4) of the main body (10); bringing the ribbon form continuous ultrathin slices (13) close to piece recovery location (5) of the protective recovery hole (4) using lashes (17) or the like; and subjecting the ribbon form continuous ultrathin slices (13) to a pressing method to recover a slit type grid (16).SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 6

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a jig used for producing continuous ultra-thin sections in pre-treatment for three-dimensional observation with an electron microscope.

Background Art

[0002] In the continuous section cutting method for a transmission electron microscope, each ultra-thin section with a length of 2 mm, where the sections are connected one by one with an ultramicrotome, is collected on a slit-type grid. See Non-Patent Document. Due to the limitation of the water surface area of the knife boat, at most seven ribbon-shaped ultra-thin sections can be produced. Separate ribbon-shaped continuous ultra-thin sections are surrounded by seven protective loops, and the handle part is hung on the edge of the knife board. Then, a recovery loop is pressed from above the protective loop to transfer the ribbon-shaped continuous ultra-thin section to the recovery loop. The recovery loop is pushed down slightly from the water surface. The water surface inside the loop becomes convex. The ribbon-shaped continuous ultra-thin section is moved to the apex of the convex surface with an eyelash or the like, and the slit-type grid held with forceps is pressed horizontally against the ribbon-shaped ultra-thin section in the direction of the ribbon-shaped continuous ultra-thin section. It is placed on a prepared support film together with the water droplets attached to the slit-type grid, and after drying, the support film is integrated with the ribbon-shaped ultra-thin section and the grid. After drying, it is observed by electron staining or the like.

Prior Art Documents

[0003]

Non-Patent Documents

Non-Patent Documents

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] This had the following drawbacks. Since the protective loop is not fixed to the edge of the boat, it is vulnerable to vibrations during operation, the loops overlap each other, and the ribbon-shaped continuous ultrathin sections are transferred from the protective loop to the recovery loop, and complications such as lowering the loop below the water surface blunt the accuracy and take a long time. The present invention was conceived to eliminate the above drawbacks.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0005] The present invention was made to solve the above problems. After attaching to the knife boat (15) of the diamond knife and ultrathin slicing, the ribbon-shaped continuous ultrathin section (13) floating on the water surface (14) is recovered in the order of cutting using the recovery tool (12). After moving the water surface (14) to the protection recovery hole (4) of the main body (10), the ribbon-shaped continuous ultrathin section (13) is brought close to the section recovery location (5) of the protection recovery hole (4) with eyelashes (17) etc. and recovered by pressing method against the slit-type grid (16). As shown in FIGS. 1 to 13, An extremely thin rectangular and rounded protection recovery plate (1), the length in the longitudinal direction is the length that can be accommodated in the diamond knife boat (15). At the center of the width of the protection recovery plate (1), protection recovery holes (4) that are neatly arranged in a row in the longitudinal direction and are substantially circular are provided at equal intervals. The protection recovery hole (4) is sized to accommodate the ring (7) of the recovery tool (12). A part of the arc of the protection recovery hole (4) is cut out, and a straight section recovery location (5) where the ribbon-shaped continuous ultrathin section (13) can be accommodated is provided parallel to the longitudinal edge a (9). A plurality of disk support frame wings (2) are provided at a plurality of locations near both ends of the longitudinal edge a (9) of the protection recovery plate (1) so as to protrude horizontally from the upper surface of the protection recovery plate (1). The handle part (6) hangs down from below the longitudinal edge a (9) of the protection recovery plate (1) with a slight inclination towards the middle of the knife boat, extends parallel to the width direction of the protection recovery plate (1) at an appropriate position, bends upward in front of the wall of the knife boat (16), and bends outward at a right angle from the edge of the knife boat at a position higher than the edge of the knife boat, and a grip part (8) is provided at the tip. The main body (10) and A recovery tool (12) is provided with a handle (20) at one corner of an extremely thin substantially Landolt-ring-shaped ring (7) sized to accommodate a ribbon-shaped continuous ultra-thin section (13). The present invention is a recovery tool for a ribbon-shaped continuous ultra-thin section (13) for a transmission electron microscope having the above-described configuration.

Effect of the Invention

[0006] By changing to a working method of attaching the main body (10) to the knife boat (15) before cutting the ribbon-shaped continuous ultra-thin section (13), the ribbon-shaped continuous ultra-thin section (13) floating on the water surface (14) of the knife boat (15) after cutting can be gently and quickly moved to the protection recovery hole (4) by the recovery tool (12). Operations such as moving the ribbon-shaped continuous ultra-thin section (13) closer to the section recovery location (5) with eyelashes or the like within the protection recovery hole (4) are also quiet. Even when the ribbon-shaped continuous ultra-thin section (13) is recovered by pressing it against the slit-type grid (16) at the section recovery location (5), there is no adverse effect on the ribbon-shaped continuous ultra-thin section (13) floating in the adjacent protection recovery hole (4). Compared with the conventional method, it is a recovery tool that can be performed simply, accurately, and quickly, far surpassing the conventional method in all aspects.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0007]

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Figure 13

Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

[0008] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail based on FIGS. 1 to 13 below. In the present invention, after attaching the main body to the knife boat (15) of the diamond knife, an ultrathin cut is made, and the ribbon-shaped continuous ultrathin section (13) floating on the water surface (14) is moved to the protection recovery hole (4) of the main body (10) in the order of cutting using the recovery tool (12). After that, the ribbon-shaped continuous ultrathin section (13) is brought close to the section recovery location (5) of the protection recovery hole (4) with eyelashes (17) or the like and recovered by pressing it against the slit-shaped grid (16). The jig is As shown in FIGS. 1 to 13, A protection recovery plate (1) made of extremely thin rectangular stainless steel with rounded corners, and the length in the longitudinal direction is the length that can be accommodated in the diamond knife boat (16). At the center of the width of the protection recovery plate (1), protection recovery holes (4) that are neatly arranged in a row in the longitudinal direction and are substantially circular in shape are provided at equal intervals and partitioned.

[0009] The protection recovery hole (4) is sized so that the ring (7) of the recovery tool (12) can fit, and a part of the arc of the protection recovery hole (4) is cut out to provide a straight section recovery location (5) where the ribbon-shaped continuous ultrathin section (13) can fit parallel to the longitudinal edge a (9). In order to make the upper surface of the protection recovery plate (1) the same height as the edge of the knife boat (3), a plurality of disk support frame wings (2) are provided so as to horizontally protrude from the upper surface in the vicinity of both ends of the longitudinal edge a (9). At this time, it is desirable to provide the intervals at the positions of two points at both ends that divide the longitudinal edge a (9) into six equal parts.

[0010] For the convenience of ultramicrotoming the ribbon-shaped continuous ultrathin sections (13), a handle portion (6) for adjusting the longitudinal edge b (11) side of the protection and recovery tray (1) to the height of the water surface (14) of the knife boat (16) hangs down slightly inclined from the lower side of the longitudinal edge a (9) of the protection and recovery tray (1) towards the middle side of the knife boat, extends parallel to the width direction of the protection and recovery tray (1) at an appropriate position, bends upward in front of the wall of the knife boat (16), and a grip portion (8) is provided at the tip bent at a right angle outward of the knife boat (16) at a position higher than the knife boat edge (3).

[0011] A handle (20) is provided at one corner of an extremely thin stainless steel substantially Landolt-ring-shaped ring (7) sized to hold the ribbon-shaped continuous ultrathin section (13) at the tip of a recovery tool (12) that moves the ribbon-shaped continuous ultrathin section (13) floating on the water surface (14) to the protection and recovery hole (4) on the water surface (14).

[0012] The present invention is a ribbon-shaped continuous ultrathin section recovery jig for a transmission electron microscope having the above configuration. When using this, The grip portion (8) can be used on either the left side or the right side. The following description is for the case where the grip portion (8) is on the left side. As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, with the grip portion (8) of the main body (10) on the left side, hold it and horizontally attach it to the knife boat (15). Since the upper side of the main body (10) is widened, the tray support frame wing (2) is placed on the right side of the knife boat edge (3), and the grip portion (8) is pushed into the left side of the knife boat edge (3). Since the grip portion side and the longitudinal edge a (9) side of the protection and recovery tray (1) are in tension with each other, the grip portion (8) side can be fixed at a free height position on the left inner wall of the knife boat (15).

[0013] As shown in FIG. 6, water is poured into the knife boat (15) to the height of the water surface (14) required for cutting to produce the ribbon-shaped continuous ultrathin section (13). With the longitudinal edge a (9) as the rotation axis, the grip portion (8) is moved up and down to change the angle of the protection and recovery tray (1), making the longitudinal edge b (11) the same height as the water surface (14), and six ribbon-shaped continuous ultrathin sections (13) corresponding to the number of holes in the protection and recovery hole (4) are cut. As shown in Fig. 6, the ribbon-shaped continuous ultra-thin section (13) is placed within the ring (7) of the recovery tool (12), and the water surface (14) is horizontally moved to move it to the recovery protection hole (4). At this time, it is desirable to lower the longitudinal edge b (11) with the handle so that the ring (7) of the recovery tool (12) can pass through more easily. As shown in Figs. 7 and 8, the ring (7) of the recovery tool (12) is the protection recovery hole (4). When the open part of the ring (7) is slightly raised at an angle, the ring (7) gently separates from the water surface (14).

[0014] This operation is repeated to move six ribbon-shaped continuous ultra-thin sections (13) to the protection recovery hole (4). As shown in Fig. 9, the ribbon-shaped continuous ultra-thin section (13) is moved to the section recovery location (5) of the protection recovery hole (4) with the eyelashes and aligned in the straight part. As shown in Figs. 10 and 11, the prepared slit-shaped grid (16) is grasped with forceps (17) and horizontally pressed against the ribbon-shaped continuous ultra-thin section (13) for recovery. As shown in Fig. 12, it is placed horizontally on the support film (18) stretched over the hole of the support film stage together with the adhering water droplets. As shown in Fig. 13, when the water droplets on the support film (18) dry, the slit-shaped grid (16) becomes integrated with the ribbon-shaped continuous ultra-thin section (13) and the support film (20), and the recovery is completed.

Explanation of Signs

[0015] 1 Protection recovery plate 2 Plate support frame wing 3 Knife boat edge 4 Protection recovery hole 5 Section recovery location 6 Handle part 7 Ring 8 Grip part 9 Longitudinal edge a 10 Body 11 Longitudinal edge b 12 Recovery tool 13 Ribbon-shaped continuous ultra-thin section 14 Water surface 15 Knife boat 16 Slit-shaped grid 17 Eyelashes 18 Tweezers 19 Support film 20 Handle

Claims

【Claim 1】 An extremely thin rectangular protective recovery plate (1) with rounded corners, where the length in the longitudinal direction fits within the diamond knife boat (16). At the center of the width of the protective recovery plate (1), a row of regularly arranged substantially circular protective recovery holes (4) are provided at equal intervals in the longitudinal direction. The protective recovery holes (4) are sized to accommodate the ring (7) of the recovery tool (12). A part of the arc of the protective recovery hole (4) is cut out to provide a straight section recovery location (5) where the ribbon-shaped continuous ultra-thin section (13) fits parallel to the longitudinal edge a (9). A plurality of plate support brackets (2) are provided at multiple locations near both ends of the longitudinal edge a (9) of the protective recovery plate (1) so as to protrude horizontally from the upper surface of the protective recovery plate (1). The handle part (6) hangs down from the lower side of the longitudinal edge a (9) of the protective recovery plate (1) slightly inclined towards the middle of the knife boat, extends substantially parallel to the width direction of the protective recovery plate (1) at an appropriate position, bends upward in front of the wall of the knife boat (16), and bends outward at a position higher than the knife boat edge (3) at a substantially right angle to the outside of the knife boat (16), and a grip part (8) is provided at the tip. The main body is like this. It is a ribbon-shaped continuous ultra-thin section recovery jig for a transmission electron microscope, which consists of a recovery tool (12) provided with a handle (20) at a corner of an extremely thin substantially Landolt ring-shaped ring (7) sized to accommodate the ribbon-shaped continuous ultra-thin section (13).

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