Electron Microscopy Facility
In addition to offering a broad range of traditional room temperature electron microscope methods, the Electron Microscopy (EM) Facility includes microscopes to support the state-of-the-art method of cryogenic-electron microscopy (Cryo-EM).
Cryo-EM has emerged as a powerful technique in structural biology, capable of delivering high-resolution images of proteins, protein complexes, cell organelles, cells, and tissues. It allows the examination of native structural features of biological samples without dehydration, chemical fixation or staining. The biological samples are rapidly vitrified in a glass-like ice layer and then imaged at liquid nitrogen temperatures. At this temperature, radiation damage is substantially reduced, which allows the use of a higher electron dose to obtain images with good signal-to-noise ratio.
The EM Facility provides researchers with access to microscopes and sample preparation equipment, introduces and supports researchers in the use of the equipment, and maintains the equipment in good working order. The facility houses eight electron microscope systems to support single-particle analysis (SPA) as well as the cryo-electron tomography (cryo-ET) workflow.
Workflows:
Transmission electron microscopes:
Dual beam scanning electron microscopes:
More equipment:
- ThermoScientific Vitrobot plunger
- Gatan Cp3 plunger
- Leica HPM100 high pressure freezer
- Leica EM ICE high pressure freezer
- Thermo Scientific CorrSight cryo fluorescence microsope
- Leica ACE600 carbon coater
- Leica vibratome VT1200S
- Leica cryostat CM3050S
- Leica EM FC6 cryo ultra-microtome
- Leica Ultracut S ultra-microtome
- Leica AFS2 freeze substitution
- EMS 850 critical point dryer
- Leica GP2 plunger
- Leica ACE600-2 electron beam carbon coater
- Leica Cryo-Thunder cryo fluorescence microsope
- Zeiss Aviovert/Alveole PRIMO fluorescence microscope with micro-patterning module
Team
Dr. Oliver Hofnagel
