Methodologies
The existing electron microscopes are used within the core facility for various research and application purposes. According to the different fields of application, different sample preparation equipment is available and specific methods have been established. Both are available to the core facility users, supported by the methodological and scientific expertise of the personal of the member institutions of the core facility.
Sample preparation for scanning electron microscopy (SEM)
- Critical-point drying
- Chemical sample drying by HMDS
- Freeze-drying
- Sputter coating (Au, Pt, C)
Sample preparation for cryo - electron microscopy (Cryo-SEM)
- Cryoimmobilisation by plunge freezing and high pressure freezing (HPF)
- Freeze-substitution
- Sputter coating (Leica ACE 600)
- Freeze fracture (Balzer / Leica Ace 600)
Sample preparation for transmission electron microscopy (TEM)
- Negative staining
- Chemical fixation
- Microwave assited chemical fixation and resin embedding
- Conventional resin embedding
- Ultramicrotomy (resin embedded samples)
- Section staining
- Cryoimmobilisation and freeze-substitution
- Low temperature embedding (methacrylates)
- Ultrathin Tokuyasu cryosectioning & immunogold labelling
- Resin section immunogold labelling
- Pre-embedding immunogold labelling
Sample preparation for correlative microscopy
- OTO fixation for correlative use of Micro-CT and electron microscopy
- Resectioning of stained semi-thin sections for TEM