Techniques in the Microscopy Suite

• Automatic processing of tissue for fixation, embedding and infiltration
• Ultramicrotomy
• Vitreous ice specimens (cryoTEM)
• Carbon or metal coating
• Sputter coating

Related equipment:

Lynx tissue processor

Ultramicrotome

Carbon evaporator

Sputter coater

WetLab

Related Forums:

Slivers of Flowerpots: Preparing the Surface of Single Crystal High Temperature Superconductors using the Ultracut.

A Web Atlas of Cellular Structures using Light and Confocal Microscopy.

Related Technical Reports:

Cell Biological Applications of Fluorescence Microscopy.

A Web Atlas of Cellular Structures Using Light and Confocal Microscopy. 

Related projects:

Web Atlas of Cellular Structures

• Brightfield imaging
• DIC or Nomarski imaging
• Phase contrast imaging
• Fluorescence imaging
• Laser tweezers (optical trap)
• Time lapse video recording
• Live cell imaging
• Image tiling and montaging
• Stereological techniques for morphological estimates
• Anatomical mapping and neuron tracing

For a useful primer see:

http://micro.magnet.fsu.edu/primer/index.html 

Related instruments:

Dissecting microscope

Light microscope

Stereology workstation

Related Forums:

The Internet Atlas of Histology.

StereoInvestigator: The Fuss About Using Stereology.

Automated Quantitation of Labeled Cells: The MCID System in Action.

Using Optical Tweezers to Manipulate Cells.

Neurolucida and Stereoinvestigator: Two systems for Analysis of Morphology of Biological Structures.

3-D Reconstruction of the Rabbit Brain from Serial Histology Sections.

A Web Atlas of Cellular Structures using Light and Confocal Microscopy.

An Introduction to the Light Microscope in the ITG.

Related Technical Reports:

Cell Biological Applications of Fluorescence Microscopy.

A Web Atlas of Cellular Structures Using Light and Confocal Microscopy. 

Related projects:

Web Atlas of Cellular Structures

• Optical sectioning
• Topographical surface mapping

Related instruments:

Confocal microscope

Related Forums:

Leica SP2 single and multi-photon confocal microscopes.

A Web Atlas of Cellular Structures using Light and Confocal Microscopy.

Related Technical Reports:

Cell Biological Applications of Fluorescence Microscopy.

A Web Atlas of Cellular Structures Using Light and Confocal Microscopy. 

Related projects:

Web Atlas of Cellular Structures

• Cryo stage, rotation stage, high tilt stage
• Low dose imaging
• Automated data acquisition
• Tomographic 3D data collection and reconstruction

Related instruments:

TEM

Related Forums:

A Brief Tutorial on Densitometry.

Automated Data Collection for Cryo Electron Microscopy.

Computational Methods for Three-Dimensional Reconstruction of Macromolecular Complexes.

Studying the Structure of Materials using Electron Microscopy, Diffraction and Modeling.

Leginon: Automated Acquisition of 1000 Electron Micrographs a Day.

Transmission Electron Microscopy: What Information can be Obtained from the Ultrathin Section?

JavaScope: Control of a Transmission Electron Microscope from a Web Browser.

Related Technical Reports:

An Interactive User Interface for Automated Acquisition of Transmission Electron Micrographs.

An Automated System For Maintaining Liquid Nitrogen Levels In The Gatan Cryostage.

An Integrated System For Transmission Electron Microscopy.

Evenly Dispersed Gold Beads on TEM Grids. 

Improving the Positional Accuracy of the Goniometer on the Philips CM200 TEM.

Automated Acquisition of Cryo Electron Micrographs Using Leginon.

Improving the Positional Accuracy of the Goniometer on the Philips CM SERIES TEM.

Leginon: A System for Fully Automated Acquisition of 1000 Electron Micrographs a Day.

Preparation of Catalase Crystals.

JavaScope: A Web-Based TEM Control Interface.

TEM Length Calibrations.

Related projects:

Remote Microscopy

Automated Microscopy

• Micromanipulation and microinjection
• Electrical and mechanical feed-throughs
• Heating (1500C) and cooling (Peltier) stages
• Energy-dispersive spectroscopy
• Time lapse video recording

Related instruments:

ESEM

Related Forums:

Microscopic studies of Equine Osteoarthritis.

Pseudo-color Stereograms from the ESEM.

Microstructure and Stress Evolution during Drying of Binary Colloidal Systems.

New Technology for the ESEM-FEG in the Beckman Microscopy Suite.

Energy-Dispersive Spectroscopy Using the Environmental Scanning Electron Microscope.

An Interactive Remote Microscopy Application for WWW-Based Control of an Environmental Scanning Electron Microscope (ESEM).

ESEM: An Introduction and Discussion to the Technology and its Applications.

Related Technical Reports:

Bugscope: The Second Year of a Sustainable Remote Microscope Project for K-12 Education Outreach.

Bugscope: Sustainable Internet Access to a ESEM for the K-12 Classroom.

Nondestructive Imaging of Pin-Mounted Museum Specimens of Insects Using the Environmental Scanning Electron Microscope (ESEM).

irma: An Interactive Remote Microscopy Application for WWW-Based Control of an Environmental Scanning Electron Microscope (ESEM).

Related projects:

Bugscope

• Contact, non contact, tapping imaging modes.
• Magnetic and electric force imaging
• Phase imaging
• Pulsed force mode
• Scanning tunneling mode
• Air or liquid cell imaging

Related instruments:

AFM

Related Forums:

Probing Polymer Subsurface Structure Using Tapping Mode Atomic Force Microscopy.

Measuring Surface Adhesion and Stiffness on the Nanometer Scale Using Pulsed-Force Microscopy.

Magnetic and Electronic Force Microscopy using the AFM.

Introduction to Atomic Force Microscopy.

Related Technical Reports:

Imaging Electrochemical Controlled Chemical Gradients Using Pulsed Force Mode Atomic Force Microscopy.

• Transmission, reflection, and collection modes
• Localized spectroscopy

Related equipment:

NSOM

Fiber puller

Related Forums:

Surface plasmon resonance microscopy with a near field scanning optical microscope.

Near Field Scanning Optical Microscopy in the Microscopy Suite.

Related Technical Reports:

Imaging Ultrathin Organic Films on the Nanometer Level Using Surface Plasmons.

• Developing darkroom with N2 burst system
• Printing darkroom with automatic print processor

Related equipment:

Printing darkroom

Developing darkroom

Related Forums:

A Brief Overview of the Darkroom Facilities in the Beckman Microscopy Suite.

Related Technical Reports: