Abstract
Summary
Cells of Leptospira pomona were successfully ruptured by an explosive decompression technique. Twelve hundred pounds per square inch appeared to be the most favorable pressure for rupture with subsequent recovery of salvageable cell parts. Electron microscopic observations revealed that axial filaments could be recovered from ruptured cell suspensions by filtration—in high purity but rather low yield. Material believed to be derived from the outer cell envelope was similarly shown to be considerably purified by differential and gradient centrifugation; however, some axial filament fragments remained in these preparations. The method of explosive decompression is suggested as a physical means for the isolation of leptospiral cell structures for studies of chemical composition or antigenicity.
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