Equipment
LeicaDMi8 inverted light microscope
Specifically configured for compatibility with the PRIMO micropatterning system. Live cells and cultures can be observed with several fluorescence channels before and after patterning. Equipped with 4x, 10x and 20x objectives and automation software
PRIMO micropatterning
PRIMO micropatterning system allows fine-tuning cell adhesion to mimic in vivo phenotypes, study cellular mechanisms or isolate cells in reproducible conditions for standardized assays. Cell adhesion cells can be accurately positioned on a EM grid simplifying the downstream steps of FIB-SEM milling and TEM imaging.
Zeiss LSM900/Airyscan2 confocal microscope with Linkam cryo stage
Platform specifically designed to enable cryo-CLEM studies of vitrified specimen. Airyscan2 provides excellent SNR that allows observation of low-abundant fluorescent labels. Up to three standard cryoEM grids can be imaged in a single loading of Linakam cryo-stage cassette. ZenConnect software allows integration of data from FIB-SEM and TEM instruments
Leica EM-GP2 plunge-freezer
The EM GP2 plunge freezes fluid or extremely thin samples spread on an electron microscopy grid into liquid ethane after removing excess fluid by automatic blotting. Blotting is single-sided leaving the specimen unperturbed. Prior to freezing the sample is maintained in a temperature and humidity controlled environmental chamber, adjustable between +4°C and +60°C and room humidity to 99%.
Aquilos 2 Cryo-FIB DualBeam
Aquilos 2 Cryo-FIB is dedicated to the automated preparation of thin, electron-transparent lamellas for high-resolution cryo-electron tomography and MicroED. Aquilos 2 also supports charging contrast imaging slice-and-view. This system is equipped with lift-out as well as light microscope for on-the-fly cryoCLEM.