The bacterial endogenous hydrogen peroxide (H(2)O(2)) was detected cytochemically by its reaction with cerium chloride (CeCl(3)) to produce electron-dense deposits of cerium perhydroxides. The sequence of fixation and CeCl(3) staining of H(2)O(2) in the processing of transmission electron microscope (TEM) sample preparation is crucial to the localization of endogenous H(2)O(2) in Escherichia coli. In this study, results confirmed that the process that fixation simultaneously with CeCl(3) staining provided optimum effects for H(2)O(2) localization in E. coli. The modified process of TEM provides very efficient protection for H(2)O(2) localization and more accurate quantization for the H(2)O(2) accumulation in bacterial cells.
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