Sections cut for TEM must be exceedingly thin (50-100 nm). The embedding polymer must therefore be hard enough to hold the material together in an ultrathin specimen as well as to provide sufficient resistence to the electron beam.
Polymer constituents are in liquid form and should be
mixed in specific volumetric proportions depending upon the desired hardness
of the plastic.
Embedding
Media Constituents |
Volumes for
Consistency |
Soft | Medium | Hard |
Embed 812
(polymer resin) |
20 ml | 20 ml | 20 ml | |
DDSA
(cross linker) |
22 ml | 16 ml | 9 ml | |
NMA
(hardener) |
5 ml | 8 ml | 12 ml | |
DMP-30
(accelerator) |
.70-.94 ml | .66-.88 ml | .62-.82 ml |