The Boulder Laboratory
For 3-D Electron Microscopy of Cells


Supported by
the National Center
for Research Resources

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2008 Workshops

IMOD Tomography Software

Sign-up here for the tomography software workshop July 9-12, 2008. The workshop is designed to teach investigators the IMOD software package developed in our lab.

The Boulder Laboratory for 3D Electron Microscopy of Cells Department of MCD Biology
Campus Box 347
University of Colorado
Boulder, CO 80309

Microscopes

The FEI Tecnai TF30 300kV IVEM

For high-resolution plastic and cryoelectron tomography

The TF30 is our primary microscope for both plastic and frozen-hydrated electron tomography. It can image biological specimens up to 300 nanometers thick, and sometimes thicker. It is equipped with a Field Emission Gun (FEG), a Gatan Imaging Filter (GIF) and two CCD cameras. Our newest camera, the Gatan "UltraCam", is in line with the GIF and is used for high-resolution imaging and tomography of frozen-hydrated specimens. The second camera is positioned before the GIF, thereby eliminating image distortions that may be caused by the GIF. It is now equipped with a 4-port readout, allowing for rapid tilt-series imaging of plastic-embedded samples. Using our SerialEM software for automated tilt-series acquisition, the TF30 can record a typical 120-image tilt-series in as little as 20 minutes.

The FEI Tecnai TF20 200kV IVEM

For electron tomography and general-purpose electron microscopy.

In addition to high-resolution tomography of semi-thick sections, the TF20 is used for single-image data acquisition, grid scanning, user training, electron diffraction, immuno-electron microscopy and data acquisition to film.The TF20 is also equipped with a FEG and can image material up to approximately 200 nanometers thick.

This microscope features a Gatan 4k x 4k CCD camera with a 4-port readout, which provides the same rapid image acquisition as the TF30. We have avariety of specimen holders, that function in both Tecnai microscopes, which give us a great deal of flexibility in tomographic tilt-series imaging. For plastic-section imaging, our most popular holder is a Gatan 670 Ultra High Tilt Holder.

This device can tilt +/- 70 degrees over most of the range of the Tecnais' compustage. We also have a Fischione Model 2020 Advanced Tomography Holder that can achieve +/- 70 degrees as well, but over the entire range of the compustage. This holder has proven very useful for users who are imaging serial sections or samples distributed over a wide range of the specimen grid.