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Structural Analysis of Exosomes Using Different Types of Electron Microscopy
Applied Microscopy 2017;47:171-5
Published online September 30, 2017
© 2017 Korean Society of Microscopy.

Hyosun Choi1, and Ji Young Mun1,2,*

1BK21 Plus Program, Department of Senior Healthcare, Graduate School, Eulji University, Daejeon 34824, Korea, 2Department of Biomedical Laboratory Science, College of Health Science, Eulji University, Seongnam 13135, Korea
Correspondence to: Mun JY, Tel: +82-31-740-7380, Fax: +82-31-740-7354, E-mail: mjy1026@gmail.com
Received June 12, 2017; Revised July 24, 2017; Accepted July 24, 2017.
This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0) which permits unrestricted noncommercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Abstract

Negative staining has been traditionally used for exosome imaging; however, the technique is limited to surface topology only and can cause staining artifacts. Therefore, to analyze the internal structure of exosomes, we employed a method of block preparation, thin sectioning, and electron tomography. In addition, an automatic serial sectioning technique with 15-nm thickness through focused ion beam was employed to observe the three-dimensional structure of exosomes of various sizes. Cryo-transmission electron microscopy revealed the near-to-native structure of exosomes.

Keywords : Exosome, Electron tomography, Serial block face section through focused ion beam, Cryo-transmission electron microscopy
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December 2018, 48 (4)
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