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Fixatives and fixation: a review

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Conclusions

During the period under review, various new fixatives have been introduced. The most important of these is glutaraldehyde which has become very widely used. The processes involved in fixation are becoming better understood in chemical and physical terms, largely due to developments in biochemistry and tanning. This understanding will become increasingly important as the resolution of macromolecules by the electron microscope increases. The images seen will then be able to be interpreted in the light of biochemical knowledge of the macromolecules and thus the gap between morphology and biochemistry will be bridged.

Some of the fixatives have secondary uses in that they may demonstrate chemical substances. Others apparently destroy certain biological activities selectively.

Increasing attention is being paid to the loss of substances from biological material during preparation. The importance of such studies cannot be overemphasized.

No one fixative is ideal for all situations. By comparing the results obtained by a number of fixatives, and assessing the loss of substances during processing, it is far less likely that artefacts will be described as constant features.

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    D. Hopwood

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Hopwood, D. Fixatives and fixation: a review. Histochem J 1, 323–360 (1969). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01003278

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