Biologic crystals and particles produced in tissue culture. I. Introduction.

A method for the cultivation of embryo chick tissues which gave rise to numerous and unusually large crystals and particles is detailed. Forms were helical, tubular, ribbon-like, hexagonal, rhomboidal, and filamentous. Rhomboids and hexagonals often had surface areas several times the size of the broad and flat tissue-cultured cells, and helices were observed up to 300 @ in length. Transformations of helical and related forms were observed. Their chemical identity could not be determined by conventional cytochemical technics. With modifications, however, helical and related forms were shown to give a positive reaction to pyronin staining which was inhibited by prior digestion in ribonuclease.