Ruthenium tetroxide, staining

Figure 11. TEM-ruthenium tetroxide stained polymer domains in a DVA compound. 

Figure 14. REM-Ruthenium tetroxide stained graft copolymer.

Hou, S.Y., et al. 1991. Membrane structures in normal and essential fatty acid-deficient stratum corneum Characterization by ruthenium tetroxide staining and x-ray diffraction. J Invest Dermatol 96 215. 

Hou, S. Y. E., Mitra, A. K., White, S. H., Menon, G. K., Ghadialiy, R. and Elias, P. M. (1991). Membrane stmctures in normal and essential fatty acid deficient stratum comeum—Characterization by ruthenium tetroxide staining and x-ray diffraction. J. Invest. Derm. 96 215. 

TC Yu. Impact modification of polypropylenes. Proceedings of Society of Plastics Engineers Annual Technical Conference, San Francisco, 1994, pp 2439-2445. GM Brown, JH Butler. New method for the characterization of domain morphology of polymer blends using ruthenium tetroxide staining and low voltage scanning electron microscopy (LVSEM). Polymer 38 3937-3945, 1997. 

The general method for ruthenium tetroxide staining is to stain sections over a fresh 1% solution for about 5-30 min. This is a problem as ruthenium tetroxide solutions are quite unstable, though Trent et al [166] have frozen solutions in sealed glass containers for periods up to six months and report that ruthenium tetroxide can be prepared by oxidation of hydrated ruthenium dioxide using sodium periodate (available from Morton Thiokol, Inc., Alfa Products). The reaction, shown in the following equation [177] ... 

Trent et al. [142-144] have been responsible for introducing ruthenium tetroxide stain for the electron microscopy of polystyrene/pol57(methyl... 

Fig. 4.17 STEM micrographs show the nature of the dispersed phase in an unstained thick section of a polymer blend (A). The combination of cryosectioning and ruthenium tetroxide staining results in somewhat more detail in a TEM micrograph (B).

---