Ultramicrotomy

Ultramicrotomy is a method for cutting specimen into extremely thin slices or sections, that can be viewed in a transmission electron microscope (TEM). Sections must be very thin because the 50 to 125 kV electrons of the standard electron microscope cannot pass through biological material much thicker than 150 nm. For best resolutions, sections should be from 30 to 60 nm. This is roughly the equivalent to splitting a 0.1 mm-thick human hair into 2,000 slices along its "Y" axis, or cutting a single red blood cell into 100 slices. Ultramicrotomy is a demanding technique that requires much practice and patience.