High-pressure freezing (HPF) is a method of fixation of biological objects (cell culture, pieces of tissue, small animals like C.elegans, etc.) for electron- and correlative microscopy. HPF allows for immediate fixation without artifacts of chemical fixation. The sample size (in suspension) must not exceed the maximal volume of the freezing cup: 1.4 mm in diameter, and 200 um in depth. Cells grown on sapphire discs can be frozen as well. Alternatively, samples on TEM grids can be fixed by plunge-freezing. HPF will be followed by cryo-substitution and imaging (TEM, SEM, CLEM) at room temperature. We plan to introduce cryo-electron microscopy in the future, for more advanced workflows.
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