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Drukker diamond Ultramicrotome knives incorporate a high quality diamond wedge mounted to an anodised aluminium holder. A comprehensive line of these tools is available for all Microtomy fields.
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Knife
Properties
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Cutting edge
The Drukker ultramicrotome knife is the result of extensive research of the polishing process of natural diamond. A process was designed for polishing precision cutting edges suitable for Ultramicrotomy. Custom manufactured polishing equipment in a highly controlled environment yields consistent cutting edge quality The
Drukker Ultramicrotome knives have a hydrophilic property that allows the tools to work with water sensitive embedding material.The hydrophilic surface of the diamond ensures complete wetability of the cutting edge at extreme low water levels in the trough.
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Wedge angle
A 45° wedge shape is created by forming 2 highly polished facets. The sharpness of any wedge angle is dictated by the precision at which the facets meet and not the size of included angle. The radius of curvature at the meets of the facets must be kept to a minimum so that the edge is sharp. The extreme hardness of diamond and advanced polishing techniques by
Element Six ensures that a sub micron radius is achieved. The
Drukker knives can cut a large variety of materials with different hardness and wetability in a number of embedding media. (For more information please visit our
User Information site as well as our
Application
notes.)
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Knife setting
Every knife is subject to extensive cutting tests at the
Element Six laboratories before release from production. Sections of rat intestine embedded in epon are inspected for the absence of knife marks. A knife that can produce scratch, chatter and compression free sections are deemed acceptable. Testing is preformed at several different section thickness between a range of 30-250 nm.
For each knife the optimum machine parameters such as cutting speed and clearance angle are determined and recorded on the knife box. You can further optimise the section quality as the Drukker Diamond knife allows the cutting speed and clearance angle to be varied based on your requirements.
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Test sections between 30 and
150nm are cut on all knives |
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The new
Drukker ULTRAONE
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| The new ULTRAONE microtome knives creates a new category of diamond knives. This disposable diamond knife combines all the advantageous knife properties of a classic
Drukker diamond knife at an affordable price. Its 3mm cutting edge and a 45° angled hydrophilic wedge enables compression, line, chatter and distortion free sections in a range of 60-200nm.The large blue anodised trough provides excellent section contrast in the trough allowing easy pick up of sections. The price performance ratio of this unique knife makes it very attractive for those areas in Ultramicrotomy where the performance of a diamond knife is needed but a
glass knife is used for cost reasons. |
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Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children
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| David
Muirhead ULTRAONE |
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ULTRAONE
sections:
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Courtesy of Prof. F. Sinowatz, Institute of veterinary medicine of LMU, Munich
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The classic
Drukker Knives
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| The classic knives are a range of 5 different knives for TEM and light-microscopy. All knives are manufactured with a 45° wedge angle and a hydrophilic diamond surface. |
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| The
classic Drukker Knives |
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The standard knives
are designed for a cutting range of 30-250nm. The cutting edge is either 2 or 3mm and can be used over its full length. The knife sits in an anodised aluminium boat holder designed for easy pick up of the sections |
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| The
standard knife |
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The CRYO knives
are available in two versions, the cryo-dry and the cryo-wet. These knives have a cutting edge of 3mm and are designed to cut in a range of 30-250nm. The holders in which these knives are mounted are especially designed for use in cryo-ultramicrotomes. The temperature range in that these knives can be used is from -190°C to ambient. The cryo-dry version is particularly suitable for the Tokoyasu method. The cryo-wet knives are used for cutting under cryogenic conditions of materials with mixtures of water and freezing point reducing chemicals such as pure alcohol, glycol or DMSO (Dimethylsulfoxide). |
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| The
cryo-dry diamond knife |
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| The
cryo-wet diamond knife |
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The Histology knives
are designed for a cutting range of 250nm to 5 microns and have a useable cutting edge of 8mm.They are available in two versions, a standard wet and a cryo version. The standard knife is mounted in a significantly enlarged boat holder to allow large numbers of sections to be parked temporarily in the boat during cutting. For better visibility of the sections through the microscope the holder is anodised dark blue. |
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| Standard wet
histology knife |
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| Histo-dry
knife |
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Services
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Exchange System:
We are committed to a rapid turnaround service on all knife replacements. We operate an exchange system rather than repair of existing knives. It is valid for all knives
Element Six produces for microscopy.
In this exchange system, a brand new knife will be delivered at a reduced exchange price when the order is received with an old knife. Any make of knife is accepted in exchange for an ultra, cryo or histo knife provided the submitted knife has a diamond cutting edge.
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