Journal of Microscopy

Our medical research library holds 6 studies published in Journal of Microscopy (1980–2020). Each entry links to the study's record on PubMed and, where there is one, to the publisher's page and a free full text. 6 have an abstract, the authors' own summary as PubMed records it: open "Abstract" to read it.

About the journal

• Publisher: Published for the Royal Microscopical Society by Blackwell Scientific Publications
• Published: 1969 to the present, England
• Language: English
• ISSN: 0022-2720 (print), 1365-2818 (electronic)
• Continues: Journal of the Royal Microscopical Society
• Its record in the NLM Catalog

2020s

• High-resolution imaging of organic pharmaceutical crystals by transmission electron microscopy and scanning moiré fringes. M. S'ari, N. Koniuch, R. Brydson, et al. 2020;279(3):197-206. PubMed · Publisher · Free full text

  Abstract

  Formulation processing of organic crystalline compounds can have a significant effect on drug properties, such as dissolution rate or tablet strength/hardness. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) has the potential to resolve the atomic lattice of these crystalline compounds and, for example, identify the defect density on a particular crystal face, provided that the sensitivity of these crystals to irradiation by high-energy electrons can be overcome. Here, we acquire high-resolution (HR) lattice images of the compound furosemide using two different methods: low-dose HRTEM and bright-field (BF) scanning TEM (STEM) scanning moiré fringes (SMFs). Before acquiring HRTEM images of furosemide, a model system of crocidolite (asbestos) was used to determine the electron flux/fluence limits of low-dose HR imaging for our scintillator-based, complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) electron camera by testing a variety of electron flux and total electron fluence regimes. An electron flux of 10 e- /(Å2 s) and total fluence of 10 e- /Å2 was shown to provide sufficient contrast and signal-to-noise ratio to resolve 0.30 nm lattice spacings in crocidolite at 300 kV. These parameters were then used to image furosemide which has a critical electron fluence for damage of ≥10 e- /Å2 at 300 kV. The resulting HRTEM image of a furosemide crystal shows only a small portion of the total crystal exhibiting lattice fringes, likely due to irradiation damage during acquisition close to the compound's critical fluence. BF-STEM SMF images of furosemide were acquired at a lower electron fluence (1.8 e- /Å2 ), while still indirectly resolving HR details of the (001) lattice. Several different SMFs were observed with minor variations in the size and angle, suggesting strain due to defects within the crystal. Overall BF-STEM SMFs appear to be more useful than BF-STEM or HRTEM (with a CMOS camera) for imaging the crystal lattice of very beam-sensitive materials since a lower electron fluence is required to reveal the lattice. BF-STEM SMFs may thus prove useful in improving the understanding of crystallization pathways in organic compounds, degradation in pharmaceutical formulations and the effect of defects on the dissolution rate of different crystal faces. Further work is, however, required to quantitatively determine properties such as the defect density or the amount of relative strain from a BF-STEM SMF image.

  © 2020 The Authors. Journal of Microscopy published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Royal Microscopical Society.

2010s

• Asbestos fibres detected by scanning electron microscopy in the gallbladder of patients with malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM). F. Grosso, A. Croce, N.F. Trincheri, et al. 2017;266(1):48-54. Case report PubMed · Publisher

  Abstract

  Gallbladders from patients affected by both malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) and important gallbladder disorders were analyzed to verify the presence of asbestos fibres. Histological thin sections were analyzed by optical microscope and variable pressure scanning electron microscopy coupled with energy dispersive spectroscopy, allowing morphological and chemical characterization of each inorganic phase observed. Fibres of chrysotile and crocidolite, minerals regulated as asbestos, were identified. By immunohistochemical analysis, connective tissue was recognized as the incorporation site. These findings confirm that asbestos fibres can reach the gallbladders of patients with MPM, for whom the development of respiratory diseases confirms asbestos exposure.

  © 2017 The Authors Journal of Microscopy © 2017 Royal Microscopical Society.

• The crocidolite fibres interaction with human mesothelial cells as investigated by combining electron microscopy, atomic force and scanning near-field optical microscopy. L. Andolfi, E. Trevisan, M. Zweyer, et al. 2013;249(3):173-83. PubMed · Publisher

  Abstract

  In this study, we have performed a morphological analysis of crocidolite fibres interaction with mesothelial cells (MET5A) by combining conventional electron microscopy with atomic force (AFM) and scanning near-field optical microscopy (SNOM). After 6-h exposure at a crocidolite dose of 5 μg cm(-2), 90% of MET5A cells interact with fibres that under these conditions have a low cytotoxic effect. SEM images point out that fibres can be either engulfed by the cells that lose their typical morphology or they can accumulate over or partially inside the cells, which preserve their typical spread morphology. By using AFM we are able to directly visualize the entry-site of nanometric-sized fibres at the plasma membrane of the spread mesothelial cells. More importantly, the crocidolite fibres that are observed to penetrate the plasma membrane in SNOM topography can be simultaneously followed beneath the cell surface in the SNOM optical images. The analysis of SNOM data demonstrates the entrance of crocidolite fibres in proximity of nuclear compartment, as observed also in the TEM images. Our findings indicate that the combination of conventional electron microscopy with novel nanoscopic techniques can be considered a promising approach to achieve a comprehensive morphological description of the interaction between asbestos fibres and mesothelial cells that represents the early event in fibre pathogenesis.

  © 2013 The Authors Journal of Microscopy © 2013 Royal Microscopical Society.

1990s

• Atomic force microscopy: influence of air drying and fixation on the morphology and viscoelasticity of cultured cells. B. Weyn, W. Kalle, S. Kumar-Singh, et al. 1998;189(Pt 2):172-80. PubMed · Publisher

  Abstract

  The influence of fixation, air-drying and liquid-imaging on the morphology as well as on the viscoelasticity of malignant mesothelioma cells was studied by atomic force microscopy. In this study, dehydrated cells were more easily scanned and offered faster data recording than hydrated cells. However, the influence of fixation strength was more noticeable. Strong fixation induced flattening of the cytoplasm and loss of nuclear structure, resulting in a clearly visible cytoskeleton which could be easily seen as fibres orientated in the direction of the cell growth. By contrast, the morphology of hydrated cells was influenced to a lesser degree on fixation and showed an overall 'rounding' of the surface with vague, ill-defined structures. Nuclear areas of these samples were difficult to image. Viscoelasticity measurements also exhibited large differences. Dehydrated cells were much harder and showed a uniform indentation profile over the whole cell that was independent of fixation. Indentation on hydrated cells was large and depended on the height of the measuring spot, the submembranous structure and, to a lesser extent, on fixation. To calculate an overall 'cellular' viscoelasticity, different methods were tested on these samples. Indentations of multiple, randomly chosen points, covering the whole cell, were measured and averaged to yield a mean indentation score. We avoided the thin and shadowed areas since it was shown that these regions were less suited for measuring. Using this design, large viscoelasticity differences were found, on which the influence of the external parameters could be shown. In another set-up, layered imaging was tried. However, long data acquisition times caused cellular activation and rearrangement, making this scanning mode unsatisfactory.

1980s

• Sectioning and imaging hard mineral fibres in biological tissues. N.F. Johnson, K. Ibe. 1981;122(Pt 1):87-92. PubMed · Publisher

  Abstract

  A technique is described which overcomes the problems associated with sectioning biological tissue containing hard mineral fibres. 0.2--0.5 micrometer thick sections were cut with a diamond knife, placed in a folding grid, conventionally stained with uranyl acetate and lead citrate and viewed at an accelerating voltage of 200 kV in the scanning transmission mode.

• Electron microscopy applied to studies of the biological significance of defects in crocidolite asbestos. D. Crawford. 1980;120(Pt 2):181-92. PubMed · Publisher

  Abstract

  Transmission electron microscopy is used in an investigation of crocidolite asbestos associated with two biological systems. Control material is extremely defective and contains in particular an abundance of Wadsley defects, (100) planar faults, and pores. Fibres sectioned in lung tissue and fibres taken from in vitro exposure to blood serum show evidence of erosion by two mechanisms--preferential attack at (100) planar defects and general surface dissolution.

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