Transmission Electron Microscope
TEM (JEOL JEM-1011)
TEM is an imaging technique where a beam of electrons is focused onto a specimen causing
a magnified image to appear on a phosphorescent screen or on photographic film.
The TEM in the Center is a compact high performance TEM. Its high-contrast objective
lens pole piece combines the highest possible contrast and brightness with optimum
resolution. The high resolution digital camera allows the users to keep images in
their own computers.
The TEM in the center can be used in all areas of biological and biomedical investigations
because of its ability to view the finest cell structures. The resolution of the TEM
is 0.2 nm lattice and the magnification can be up to 600K.
The TEM in the center can also be used by crystallographers, metallurgists or semiconductor
research scientists. Because of the extremely high resolution, it provides great benefit
for nanotechnology research.
Scanning Electron Microscope
SEM (FEI Quanta 200)
The SEM in the Center is a high resolution environmental microscope with improved
image resolution and contrast. It has the capability of running in high vacuum, variable
pressure and environmental modes which means that it can handle all specimens - even
uncoated, non-conductive samples as well as wet samples that require being above the
vapor pressure of water. The attached EDS can analyze non-conductive samples in low-vacuum.
This SEM can be used at very low electron energies (200 eV), which is very useful
for imaging specimens that cannot be conductivity coated properly. It is engineered
to provide maximum data – imaging and microanalysis – from all specimens, with or
without preparation.
In Materials Science, this SEM can be used to obtain a fundamental understanding of
material structures and properties.
Another advantage of this SEM is its degrees of freedom such as acceleration voltage,
beam current, final apertures and specimen manipulation, which includes working distances
between 5 and 48 mm, 360 degrees of rotation and 90 degrees of tilt.
| Resolution |
High-vacuun |
Low-vacuum |
Extended vacuum mode (ESEM) |
| |
3.0nm at 30kV |
3.0n at 30kV |
3.0nm at 30kV |
| |
10nm at 3kV |
<12nm at 3kV |
|
| Chamber Vaccum |
<6e-4 Pa |
10 to 130 Pa |
10 to 2600 Pa |
Confocal Laser Scanning Microscope
CLSM (Leica TCS SP2)
The CLSM in the Center allows users to perform three-dimensional microscopy of fluorescently
labeled specimens. The small pinhole in the CLSM can detect light that originates
from a thin optical section. This feature is particularly well suited for the examination
of thick specimens (up to 100 micrometers) for which out-of-focus light, using conventional
microscopy, would obscure structural details. A three-dimensional and stereoscopic
image can be generated by collecting a series of optical sections through the thickness
of the specimen.
The CLSM can monitor intracellular ion concentration, dynamic morphological events
of living cells, interactions between proteins, protein diffusion, etc. It is also
a useful tool for materials scientists interested in the topological characterization
of surfaces.
Laser Capture Microdissection
LCM (P.A.L.M. Microbeam)
The principle of laser cutting is a locally restricted ablative process without heating
of the adjacent material and results in a clear cut gap between your desired sample
area and the surrounding tissue. The laser capture in the Center has following features
- the only fully non-contact laser-based micromanipulation and microdissection technology
on the market;
- clear cut gap avoids contamination from neighboring tissue;
- no interference from the laser with your biological material;
- facilitate and accelerate micromanipulations;
- suitable for most routinely prepared cell and tissue samples;
- ideal starting point for highly sensitive downstream analyses;
- isolation and even recultivation of living cells.
LCM is ideal for excising a specific tissue from frozen sections from which RNA can
be isolated to measure the expression of a given gene in that tissue.
