Galina Deyneko asks about freezing skeletal muscle. I'm not sure that temperature control of the isopentane is too important - it should be very slightly viscous. But do get rid of explosive isopentane and get a non-flammable substitute - see my previous posts on this topic.
The technique for freezing skeletal muscle is easier demonstrated than described. Hold a small piece (maybe 5 x 10 mm) in tweezers, and coat it with talc powder so that it appears white on the surface. Then dip the specimen in and out of the isopentane - roughly two dips per second - until it is frozen solid. That will eliminate the ice crystal artifact. But you have to try it a few times before it will quite work for you. Set aside one dead rat and one afternoon. Bob Richmond Samurai Pathologist Knoxville TN _______________________________________________ Histonet mailing list Histonet@lists.utsouthwestern.edu http://lists.utsouthwestern.edu/mailman/listinfo/histonet