Freeze fracture electron microscopy of a suspension of the unicellular green alga Euglena gracilis cryopreseved in a straw (0.25ml capacity). The cryoprotectant used was methanol (10% v/v). Ice was nucleated within the straw at -7.5°C, the sample was then cooled at 0.5 °C per minute to -100°C and then transferred to liquid nitrogen. A cross fracture of the straw followed by deep etching uncovers three cells. These cells are not shrunken and have fractured to reveal the intracellular contents.

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