Instrumentation

JEOL 2100 FEG TEM – Analytical and Cryo 

This high-resolution analytical electron microscope can operate at 120kV and at 200kV. It is capable of an ultimate point-to-point resolution of 0.23nm, with the ability to image lattice fringes at 0.1 nm resolution. For superior chemical analysis the microscope is equipped with EDX and GIF systems as well as Gatan HAADF, BF/DF detectors for STEM imaging (at 0.2nm Lattice resolution). This instrument can run in Cryo mode allowing researchers to image hydrated cryo-preserved samples, such as dispersed biological macromolecular assemblies and nano-particles in their native environment, eliminating the structural deformation resulting from the drying process of standard TEM sample preparation. 

930 Gatan Cryo-Plunge3 

A semi-automatic plunge freezing instrument for the preparation of frozen hydrated specimens for cryoTEM imaging 

626 Liquid Nitrogen Single Tilt Holder 

This holder is designed for low temperature transfer and subsequent recording of electron beam sensitive, frozen hydrated specimens in the TEM. 

914 High tilt liquid nitrogen cryo-transfer tomography holder 

This holder is designed for low temperature transfer and subsequent recording of radiation-sensitive, frozen hydrated specimens for cryo transmission electron microscopy. The low-profile tip design provides a large field of view at high tilt angles to facilitate frozen hydrated tomographic data collection. 

Gatan Solarus 

This advanced plasma system allows for reproducible cleaning of hydrocarbon contamination from TEM grids. It utilizes Oxygen and Argon gases. 

Zeiss Crossbeam 540 SEM/FIB – Room Temperature and Cryo 

This field emission Scanning Electron Microscope is designed for high resolution examination, especially at lower voltages for sensitive samples. The instrument has a STEM stage and detector allowing for large field of view examination of samples in transmission mode. A Focused Ion Beam milling column is installed for nanomachining and serial-sectioning. With the Leica cryo-stage, frozen hydrated samples can be examined in STEM mode, or FIB-milled to create full 3D volume reconstructions of cryo-preserved samples. 

Zeiss Airyscan LSM 880 Confocal (upright) – Room Temperature and Cryo 

This upright confocal microscope is equipped with a Zeiss Airyscan module for higher sensitivity, improved optical sectioning, and superresolution imaging of standard fluorescent samples. With the Linkam cryo-stage, frozen fluorescent samples can be examined, and then transferred to cryo-TEM or cryo-SEM/FIB for correlative light and electron microscopy (CLEM). 

Leica VCT 500 Cryo Transfer 

This cryo system has a custom built cryo stage on the SEM/FIB and allows for the transfer of cryo samples under vacuum from the Freeze Fracture system. 

Leica ACE 900 Freeze Fracture 

This freeze fracture system provides rotary shadowing of platinum and carbon. It interfaces with the VCT 500 for seamless transfer of cryo samples into the cryoSEM/FIB. 

Leica FS2 Freeze Substitution 

Freeze substitution allows for cryo-preserved samples to be stained and resin embedded while maintaining the preserved ultrastructure. Once embedded, samples can be sectioned for room temperature TEM or STEM examination. 

Leica UC7 Cryo Ultra Microtome 

This ultramicrotome allows for the thin (50-100 nm) sectioning of resin embedded samples for TEM and STEM examination. With the equipped cryo-chamber frozen hydrated samples can be prepared for cryo-electron microscopy or immunohistochemistry. 

High Pressure Freezer 
 

Denton Sputter Coater 

This instrument provides gold sputtering and carbon evaporation for coating of samples prior to examination in the SEM. 

Pelco BioWave Pro+ Microwave 

Microwave tissue processor allows for the accelerated processing of tissue and cell culture samples for electron microscopy and immunohistochemistry. 

Veeco Multimode 8 Atomic Force Microscope (AFM) 

The Multimode 8 AFM is capable of multiple modes of scanning probe atomic force microscopy including Peak Force Tapping Mode, Contact Mode, and Standard Tapping mode. A liquid cell is available upon request. Simple operation of the Multimode 8 is enabled using the ScanAsyst software which automatically sets the feedback control for the user to optimize scanning performance (i.e. no tuning required). This minimizes the learning curve on the device substantially. The Multimode 8 computer is also outfitted with a comprehensive image analysis and quantitative nano-mechanical (QNM) software package that will provide publication-quality images and data.  

Wyatt Dyna Pro Plate Reader - Dynamic Light Scattering (DLS) 

High throughput particle sizing measurements of macromolecules ranging from 0.5 nm to 1 micron, under dilute solution conditions. The DynaPro utilizes an 850 nm laser and is equipped to run noninvasive measurements on 50 uL samples in a 384 well plate.   

Spectradyne nCS1 – Nanoparticle sizing and counting 

This instrument allows for the counting (nanoparticles/mL) and size determination (50 nm – 10 um) of particles in a conductive buffer. It requires 3 uL of sample which is run through a disposable single-use cartridge. 

TA Instruments Discovery Hybrid Rheometer 2 

The HR-2 design is a single-head hybrid rheometer which includes an advanced drag cup motor and magnetic bearings for outstanding direct stress control, direct strain control, and normal force measurement accuracy. The device is suitable for testing liquids, viscous fluids, gels, melts, UV-reactive materials and solids. Several different geometries are available depending on your sample material. Instrument is equipped with a peltier stage for temperature ramped measurements, an environmental test chamber (ETC) for high temperature experiments, and a DMA tension clamp.