Transmission Electron Microscopy Facility

Transmission Electron Microscopy Facility

About Facility

The Transmission Electron Microscopy facility is dedicated to the ultrastructure analysis of a variety of biological samples.

Our EM platform is fully equipped for grid modifications, sample preparation, negative stain EM and cryo-EM. This platform is based on the cryoelectron microscope Tecnai Polara G2, which includes all the necessary equipment for efficient and reproducible sample preparation.

For the extensive demand on image processing, we have high-performance computing resources for the implementation of algorithms for the analysis and processing of data obtained using cryo-electron microscopy and a large data storage unit.

Equipment

FEI Tecnai Polara G2 300kV TEM

FEI Tecnai Polara G2 is a 300kV field emission gun (FEG) high resolution TEM/STEM.

This microscope is a great instrument to collect a dose-fractionated image series of single particles. Its highly coherent 300kV electron beam together with the outstandingly low contamination rate of this instrument allows for highest-resolution data collection sessions spanning several days on the same grid.


FEI Vitrobots Mark IV

Vitrification forms an amorphous solid that does little to no damage to the sample structure and is a critical technique for cellular and structural biology research where samples are cooled so rapidly that the surrounding water molecules do not have time to crystallize.

Good vitrification is a crucial step within structural biology applications such as single particle analysis (SPA), cryo electron tomography (cryo-ET), and MicroED. The Thermo Scientific Vitrobot Mark IV System ensures that critical vitrification parameters can be kept constant, thereby ensuring enhanced sample quality prior to imaging of the vitrified particles or cellular components.

The Vitrobot System is a specimen preparation unit that offers great value to the demanding scientific areas of cell biology and molecular imaging. It is equally suitable for food, industrial, pharmaceutical, and nanotechnological applications - where the true colloidal structure of your analyte is critical.


Glow Discharger

The PELCO easiGlowTM Glow Discharge Cleaning System is a compact, quick and easy to use standalone system. It is primarily designed for cleaning TEM grids and hydrophilization of TEM carbon support films, which have the tendency to be hydrophobic. A glow discharge treatment with air will make a carbon film surface negatively charged (hydrophilic) which allows aqueous solutions to spread easily.

With increasingly demanding imaging applications, using clean and consistent quality TEM grids and supports has become more important than ever. Glow discharge treatment of TEM grids removes adsorbed hydrocarbons, cleaning them while making them hydrophilic. The PELCO easiGlowTM is an affordable and easy to operate glow discharge system for TEM lab.



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