Electron Microscopy Service

Depending on your question and sample we offer a variety of different preparation techniques to ensure optimal preservation of your specimen:

  • Production of EPON resin blocks, semi-fine sections and preparation of grids for transmission electron microscopy (TEM)
  • Conventional chemical fixation for tissue samples and cell monolayers.
  • Immuno-labeling to locate structures of interest.
  • Negative Staining for rapid visualization of macromolecules, proteins, viruses, organelles or bacteria.

A) TEM micrographs of ZIKA virus-infected primary fibroblasts. Membrane vesicles with sizes between 70 and 100 nm, observed in intimate association with the endoplasmic reticulum, are indicated by a white arrow. Black arrows indicate the presence of spherical capsids detected in intracellular vacuoles or docked to intracellular membranes. From Hamel et al., J. Virol. 2015 Sep 89(17) 8880-96 

B) TEM micrographs of wt-HIV particles

C) TEM analysis of influenza A(H1N1) Virus-Like Particle production in HEK 293T cells. From Kerviel et al., PLoS One. 2016 Nov 4;11(11):e0165421. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0165421

D) U2OS cells transiently transfected with Coxiella Burnetii vacuolar protein B (CvpB)-HA, fixed and processed for immuno-EM with the HA tag labeled using Nanogold particles. CvpB could be detected in clusters of small vesicles, enlarged vesicles or plasma membrane protrusions. From Martinez et al., Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2016 Jun 7;113(23):E3260-9. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1522811113