DiATOME Histo Diamond Knife

THE HISTO KNIFE FOR LIGHT MICROSCOPY

Room Temperature

Knives are available with a 45° angle.
Section thickness range 0.2 - 10µm.
Cutting edge length 4, 6, and 8mm.

The knife is designed for the sectioning of hard and soft biological and industrial materials, non-embedded or embedded in methacrylate or epoxy resins.
The Histo knife may be used on all ultramicrotomes and microtomes with a retraction of the specimen in the return phase.

For the production of our Histo knives we use natural diamonds of highest quality. They guarantee the best quality and durability of the cutting edges.

Some of the advantages of our Histo diamond knife compared with glass knives:

• Perfect sections, free of scores or compression
• Serial sections without knife change
• Thinner sections
• Extreme durability of the cutting edge
• No knife making procedure
• Lifetime guarantee

Histo Jumbo knives

For 3D reconstruction it is imperative not to lose a single section (Ref. Blumer).
The large Jumbo boat as well as the adhesive (Pattex compact by Henkel) applied to the side of the sample block increase the distinct advantages of our histo knives.

Features

• Easy production of section ribbons (0.5-2µm)
• No section loss
• No folding
• The same orientation of all sections
• Easy collection of section ribbons
• Multiple ribbons on one glass slide
• Perfect for immuno-histo-chemistry

Nondecalcified rat bone., Scale: 35mm = 100μm. Daniel Studer, Anatomisches Institut, Bern.

Cryo Temperatures

Knives are available with a 45° angle.
Section thickness range 0.2 - 5µm.
Cutting edge length 4 and 6mm.

The Histo Cryo knives are delivered in boats (for wet cryo sectioning) and triangular holders (for dry cryo sectioning), made of a special copper/nickel alloy, which guarantees the best heat/cold transmission.

References

1. O.L. Reymond: The «semi» diamond knife: a substitute for glass or conventional diamond knives in the ultramicrotomy of thin and semi-thin sections. Bas. Appl. Histochem. 30, pp. 487-494, 1986.
2. M.J.F. Blumer, P. Gahleitner, T. Narzt, C. Handl, B. Ruthensteiner: Strips of semi-thin sections: an advanced method with a new type of diamond knife. Journal of Neuroscience Methods 120,pp. 11-16, 2002. Contact adress M.J.F. Blumer: michael.blumer@uibk.ac.at
3. M.J.F. Blumer: Development of a unique eye: photoreceptors of the pelagic predator Atlanta peroni (Gastropoda, Heteropoda). Zoomorphology 119, pp. 81-91, 1996.

E. B. Hunziker M. E. Müller Institute for Biomechanics, University of Bern.Rabbit joint, calcified cartilage/bone. X760