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Biology

Scanning Microscopy

Journal

1988

Backscattered electron imaging

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Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences

The Use Of Backscattered Electron Imaging, X-Ray Microanalysis And X-Ray Microscopy In Demonstrating Physiological Cell Death, I. D. Bowen, N. A. Worrill, C. A. Winters, K. Mullarkey Jul 1988

The Use Of Backscattered Electron Imaging, X-Ray Microanalysis And X-Ray Microscopy In Demonstrating Physiological Cell Death, I. D. Bowen, N. A. Worrill, C. A. Winters, K. Mullarkey

Scanning Microscopy

The cytochemical localization of enzymatic activity by means of backscattered electron imaging (BEi) is reviewed and the application of BEI to changes in acid phosphatase and ATPase distribution during physiological (programmed) cell death in Heliothis midgut is explored. Programmed cell death entails the release of nascent free acid phosphatase as extracisternal hydrolase. This shift can readily be detected by means of the atomic number contrast imparted by BEI of the lead phosphatase reaction product, thus enabling the distribution of dying cells to be mapped. BEI is particularly useful in this context as it allows the examination of bulk specimens at …