Daily Archives: October 4, 2017

If…Then

Electron micrographs of liver, Legacy Perfluorocarbons, Perfluorodecyl iodide, Ultimate order, the cell

I sometimes get the uneasy feeling that if i see a pattern in an electron micrograph that someone is going to say, ah thats just fixation artifact… and of course they are right. All testing is “fixation artifact” but its the purview of each observer to determine what is background noise and what is real structure.

In the case of looking at perfluorochemicals left behind in tissues, consensus says that there is “nothing” in that empty footprint, just the embedding medium (in this case EPON 812).  So there is a texture to the embedding medium, no question, but nothing I can perceive, and so easily compared to the texture of surrounding tissues, so that when I see a pattern in the tissue I am pretty convinced that it is the presence of the proteins . (They are influenced by the fixative and type and length of dehydration and other stuff not excluding the warping and shifting under the electron microscope.  All those factors play a role). It is one of the reasons that an internal control for size (and i am suggesting background texture) in electron microscopy is really important. I CAN list a short list of variables to be aware of (my knowledge is just observational) which begin even before biopsy, including the time of the last meal, 1) circadian cycle, 2) health of the tissue (in vivo or in vitro –doesn’t matter) 3) mode of analgesia or anesthesia at biopsy (paralytics – solutions with ions (as in perfusion) 4) time till tissue gets into fixative, 5) size of the tissue block, 6) type of fixative, 7) length of time in fixative, 8) length of time and chemicals used for dehydration, 9)type of plastic, 10) section thickness, 11) staining compounds, 12) TEM specs, KV, etc….  so I am willing to accept that not all parameters are under one’s control.

I will however say that the pattern below (in a portion of a macrophage in the liver of a mouse given 10%IPFD in 5%F68, 267 days post infusion) shows a linearity I would not be willing to ignore. low mag micrograph top, for orientation, next below is micrograph of the red box area which shows the periodicity. That is just one of the linear arrangements that are visible in these tissues. rotated image for easier measuring and comparing the textured are (top box) and the basic epon texture (bottom box).

This is why we hire translators

Rants

While looking up some info on another perfluorinated compound used in testing for that group of chemicals’ usefulness in the field of blood substitutes I found this cute description — which just made me laugh a little.  While admittedly, I cannot speak another language (except just enough french to get to the restroom), I would never make a company product listing without having someone sit beside me and personally help me translate.  Otherwise something like what is listed below would happen.  Hey, maybe google did this translation, haha.

“Fluorinated fabric finishing agents and fluorinated surfactant intermediates. Development and production company perfluoroalkyl iodide, perfluoroalkyl ethyl iodide, perfluoroalkyl ethanol, perfluoroalkyl vinyl and perfluoroalkyl ethyl acrylate and other products is an important chemical raw material, can be transformed to the corresponding alcohol, thiol, and sulfonyl chloride such as various fluorine-containing intermediates for further synthesis of various fluorine-containing surfactants, fluorine-containing finishing agents and other fluorine-containing fine chemicals. Such fluorinated products with high thermal stability, high chemical stability and excellent performance hydrophobic hate oil, with its made of fluorinated finishing agent with conventional textile finishing agent incomparable characteristics, through their treatment of textiles with a variety of excellent performance, and thus much attention and welcome from domestic and foreign markets, to become the mainstream of today’s textile finishing.”