How can I fix it? can i keep root/leaf samples in fridge (-80 C 0r -20 C) for several days? or immediately should I prepare sample for Transmission Electronic Microscopy (TEM) imaging?
No, you cannot freeze your specimens; sells will be damaged by ice crystals. Some people keep their specimens in fixative (refrigerated) for a while, but I avoid doing that (my specimens often sensitive to prolonged exposition to water).
You should fix plant tissue in glutaraldehyde 5% under vacuum conditions for at least 24 hours. For best results you should continue the processing immediately, but eventually you could keep the sample some days in fixative solution. Never freeze the samples fot TEM!
if you want to look at cell organelles under TEM it is always better to fix the samples as early as possible. Minimize the time between sample collection from plant and dropping into fixative solution. This is very important to minimize plasmolysis of cytoplasm and thereby displacement and deformation of cell organelles. Now let us know what portion of leaf and root you want to investigate under TEM. This will help to select the group of cells to be studied. For instance, if you want to look at cells in root columella, then you can select only extreme tip of root and discard remaining part. In leaf similarly,if your area of interest is on leaf mesophyll, then select the lamina free of veins. This will enable to collect 1mm or less size samples for better preservation of cell structures.
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