Please write an essay for the following information for the Freeze fracture technique (may use online sources): Purpose...

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Biology

Please write an essay for the following information for theFreeze fracture technique (may useonline sources):
Purpose - Brief description (one to twosentences) of the purpose of this method (ie. what is the generalpurpose for this technique? When would it be used?)
Background â€“ This section will include adescription of the concepts and theories that are needed tounderstand this technique.
Method description â€“ this section will includean overview of the steps involved in carrying out the technique.This does not need to be as detailed as you would expect to find ina publication, but rather should include more of an outline of theexperimental flow.
Advantages/limitations of the technique â€“ Thissection should include at least 1 advantage and 1 limitation of thetechnique compared to other techniques.

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The freezefracture technique consists of physically breakingapart fracturing a frozen biological sample structural detailexposed by the fracture plane is then visualized byvacuumdeposition of platinumcarbon to make a replica forexamination in the transmission electron microscope The four keysteps in making a freezefracture replica arei rapid freezingii fracturingiii replication andiv replica cleaningIn routine protocols a pretreatment step is carried out beforefreezing typically comprising fixation in glutaraldehyde followedby cryoprotection with glycerol An optional etching stepinvolving vacuum sublimation of ice may be carried out afterfracturing Freeze fracture is unique among electron microscopictechniques in providing planar views of the internal organizationof membranes Deep etching of ultrarapidly frozen samples permitsvisualization of the surface structure of cells and theircomponents Images provided by freeze fracture and relatedtechniques have profoundly shaped our understanding of thefunctional morphology of the cellUse of freeze fracturing in biologyCell membranes consist of phospholipids and attached or embeddedproteins Membrane proteins play vital roles in the metabolism andlife of the cell You cannot use ordinary microscopy to visualizeor characterize adhesion proteins transport proteins and proteinchannels in the cell membrane Using electron microscopy and atechnique called freeze fracture which splits frozen cellmembranes apart allows visualization of the membrane structure andthe organization of proteins within the sea of phospholipidsCombining other methods with freeze See Answer

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