Room Temperature Electron Microscopy

Integrating electron microscopy with light microscopy to probe the structure of specific cells and organelles.

Electron microscopy enables visualization of structures at the nanoscale level. This technique is highly versatile and can be applied to many types of biological sample, including protein complexes, cultured cells, tissue, and small organisms like yeast and C. elegans. Electron microscopy can also be integrated with light microscopy, allowing researchers to locate and explore the detailed architecture of specific cells and organelles.

electron micrographs of nucleosomes and Kidney
Electron microscopy of nucleosome arrays (left) from Vizjak, P et al., (2024), Nat Struct Mol Biol 31, 1331–1340 and kidney tissue (right) from Ivanyi, B et al., (2001), Mod Pathol 14, 1200–1208. Reproduced under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license.

Imaging protein complexes

Purified protein complexes, virus, bacteria and subcellular fragments can be imaged by electron microscopy after coating them with heavy atoms salts (negative staining) or carbon/platinum. This approach requires minimal sample preparation and is accessible to any user.

Imaging cellular samples

Larger biological samples must be fixed to preserve their ultrastructure and stained with heavy metals to enhance image contrast. This technique can be combined with light microscopy to locate specific structures labeled with fluorescent tags or gold particles. Additionally, by preparing serial sections of the sample, or carrying out tomographic imaging it is possible to obtain volumetric data and reconstruct three-dimensional models.

LM and EM images of Kinetochores
Correlative Light and Electron Microscopy of kinetochores of Muntjac cells from Drpic et al., (2018), Curr Biol, 28(9):1344-1356. Reproduced under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license.

What we offer

We offer assistance and training for all steps of the process including sample preparation, imaging, 3D-reconstruction and data analysis.  A list of the equipment we have available can be seen here.  We also work in conjunction with the Light Microscopy Core to provide CLEM approaches.

We also offer basic imaging for non-biological specimens (e.g. nanoparticles). Please contact us directly if you would like further information.

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