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Blood Smear. Overall View. Intermittent Contact Mode.
Blood smear is the simplest biological sample. It can be prepared within a few minutes (see Preparation of the Sample). Many peptides, which are present in blood, block salt crystallization in drying, and removal of salt becomes unnecessary. We can see many interesting objects in a blood smear in all ranges of magnification - from tens of microns (blood cell) to a few nanometers (blood peptides and features of membrane). The material for the preparation is always with you. You can to use it to check your microscope, only observe sterility.
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Fig. 1 NSG11 cantilever was applied in the intermittent contact mode.
a) – 70x70 mkm scan of a human blood smear on a slide. Most cells are red blood cells (RBC), or erythrocytes. They are similar in size, but their shapes change easily (for instance, for better movement through capillaries). Their shapes on the scan are deformed by pressure of neighboring cells. White arrow – monocyte; yellow arrow – platelet.
b) – 70x45 mkm scan of an erythrocyte rouleau. These rouleaus can be observed by light microscopy in slow circulating blood.
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