Microscopes and specimen preparation

The CryoEM facility houses a suite of 8 electron microscopes dedicated to biomedical discovery and research, as well as the associated specimen preparation equipment. The suite includes five transmission electron microscopes (TEM), two focused ion beam scanning electron microscopes (FIBSEM) and a scanning electron microscope. The facility also has an advanced confocal microscope, equipped with a cryo-stage.

Microscopes

TFS TITAN KRIOS G4 Cryo TEM

The TITAN KRIOS G4 is a 300kV Cryo-Transmission Electron Microscope, optimised for single particle analysis (SPA), high-resolution cryo-electron tomography (cryo-ET) for subtomogram averaging (STA), and microcrystal-electron diffraction (MicroED). It has a cold-FEG and is equipped with a Selectris X Imaging filter, coupled with a Falcon 4i direct electron detector, as well as Panther STEM and EMPAD detectors.

FEI Titan Krios Cryo-TEM

The FEI Titan Krios Cryo-TEM has an autoloader for 12 Cryo samples, a Falcon III Direct Electron Detector, a Gatan Energy Filter with a K3 Direct Electron Detector, and a Volta Phase Plate.

FEI Talos Arctica Cryo-TEM

The 200keV FEI Talos Arctica Cryo-TEM has a 12 cryo-grid autoloader, a Falcon III direct electron detector, a K2 Summit Direct Electron Detector and a Volta phase plate.

FEI Tecnai Spirit G2 TEM

The FEI Tecnai Spirit is a 120keV Cryo-capable TEM. It is equipped with a Gatan Alpine Direct Detection camera which enables the acquisition of high-resolution cryo-EM structures. Holders include Gatan 626 Cryo transfer holder and Fishione tomography holder.

JEOL JEM-1400PLUS TEM

The JEOL 1400 Plus, a 120keV TEM, is used for standard cell and tissue samples and negatively stained proteins.

FEI Nova NanoSEM

The FEI Nova NanoSEM is equipped with secondary electron, backscatter, and STEM detectors. The microscope runs the correlative software package MAPS.

TFS Helios 5 UX Cryo-FIBSEM

The Helios 5 UX Cryo-FIBSEM is equipped with a Leica VCT500 cryo-stage and auto refill system, which allows 24/7 cryo-operation. It also has an EasyLift NanoManipulator (including cryo lift-out), an Oxford EDS system (including 3D EDS analysis), and software for Slice & View, CLEM, and TEM lamellae preparation.

TFS Helios 5 Hydra DualBeam cryo-PFIBSEM

The Cryo-Hydra enables researchers to reveal the internal structure of various samples at room as well as cryogenic temperatures in high resolution. Equipped with Helios 5 SEM electron column, the tool is primarily used to rapidly mill large volumes of materials using high-current ion beams, for preparation of electron transparent sections of a specimen for TEM analysis using low ion beam currents, or to obtain 3-dimensional serial images from the bulk of a material using the Auto Slice and View routine. The Helios 5 Hydra DualBeam is an all-in-one instrument with a unique multiple ion species PFIB column with four ion species (Xe, Ar, O, N) to be used as a primary beam with an automated, fast, and easy switching capability (<10 minutes). The Helios 5 Hydra PFIB is Ga-ion free.

Zeiss LSM900 Airyscan 2 with Linkam Cryo-stage

Airyscan 2 allows you to do more than any conventional LSM detector. Each of its 32 detector elements collects additional information, while all of them together gather even more light, yielding super-resolution quantitative results. The efficient beam path is designed for the best spectral flexibility, with each component optimized for the highest sensitivity and contrast. GaAsP PMTs – that is, gallium arsenide phosphide photomultiplier tubes – display high light collection efficiencies over a broad spectral range. The CMS196V³ is a cryo-CLEM instrument to enable the full workflow of CLEM. Apart from maintaining the sample vitrified by means of liquid nitrogen cooling it provides proven capabilities to safely handle and transfer cryo samples and image them with optical microscopy while keeping them free of contamination at all times. CMS196V³ was designed specifically to solve the problem of how to get vitrified EM grids from the fluorescent microscope into the cryo TEM without devitrification and contamination through condensation. Up to 3 grids are loaded into a specially designed cassette which is transported from a plunge freezer in a small sealed container.