TRANSMISSION ELECTRON MICROSCOPY

I. TEM

II. cryo-EM & cryo-ET

I. TEM

Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) is an imaging tool that relies on the physical principals of electrons to shape and form an electron beam by electromagnetic lenses within a vacuum. This technique achieves nm resolution on well prepared biological specimens and it has enabled biomedical researchers to get a better understanding of protein and tissue ultrastructure, cell interactions and general cell and tissue biology.

Resources

- FEI Tecnai T20: 200 kV TEM for examination of biological samples at room temperature (negative staining or electron tomography)
- FEI Morgagni: 100 kV TEM for examination of biological samples at room temperature (sections, rotary shadowing, negative staining

II. Cryo-EM & cryo-ET

Cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) and cryo-electron tomography (cryo-ET) allow insights into the 2D and 3D structure of biological samples at near atomic resolution. Contrary to conventional EM, samples are rapidly frozen without using chemical fixation or heavy metal staining to visualise samples ranging from proteins to cells close to their native state.

Resources

- Thermo Scientific Glacios: 200 kV TEM (Single Particle or Cryo-Elecron Tomography)
- 300kV Cryo-TEM Titan Krios G3i with phase plate (Single Particle or Cryo-Electron Tomography
- Gatan K2 summit direct electron detector
- Leica EM GP plunge freezer
- FEI Vitrobot Mk III plunge freezer

Applications

- 2D (cryo-EM) and 3D (cryo-ET) visualisation
- Near atomic resolution of biological samples close to their native state
- Suitable for proteins, vesicles, organelles, viruses and cells
- Correlative light and electron microscopy (CLEM)