Facility for Electron Microscopy City Campus
The Electron Microscopy Facility at the City Campus is part of the Department of Neurogenetics (Director: Klaus-Armin Nave). We work in the field of biological ultrastructural research in cooperation with scientists within the Max Planck Institute for Multidisciplinary Sciences and the Göttingen Science Campus in association with the Cluster of Excellence "Multiscale Bioimaging: from Molecular Machines to Networks of Excitable Cells" (MBExC).
In the EM unit City Campus, transmission electron microscopy (TEM) is routinely used to analyse cellular ultrastructure. Depending on the scientific question, we use plastic-embedded samples for morphological analysis or immuno-electron microscopy on ultrathin cryosections to localise molecules within the cell or tissue. For ultrastructural analysis, samples are either chemically fixed and conventionally embedded or high-pressure frozen (HPF) and embedded in resin after freeze substitution. Conventional preparations are suitable for quantitative comparisons of phenotypes. Different to this, HPF samples often reveal detailed ultrastructure that can be lost in conventional preparation methods due to artefacts caused by chemical fixation and the embedding procedure. This is particularly important in the field of myelin research. To improve our results we are continuously developing and modifying protocols for sample preparation, for example microwave-assisted sample preparation for specialised applications.
Our equipment includes two transmission electron microscopes for routine work: a Zeiss EM 900 and a LEO 912AB Omega. For volume electron microscopy, we use a Zeiss Crossbeam 540. This instrument is a scanning electron microscope with a focused ion beam (FIB-SEM). The ion beam is used to remove material from the sample block face while the electron beam creates an image of the newly exposed surface. This method can be used to make a defined volume of a sample accessible for sequential imaging and subsequent 3D reconstruction. Furthermore, the scanning electron microscope can be used for 2D imaging of large-area samples using the ATLAS Mosaic function, if the larger context of the tissue is relevant for the investigation.
Press releases & research news
Exchange of information within the EM community
"Submicron" mailing list
Anyone working in the field of electron microscopy is often confronted with problems or questions that could be solved by talking to experienced colleagues. For this purpose, we launched an international e-mail list "submicron-list" to enable a quick exchange of information. This platform is also ideal for announcing conferences, workshops or job vacancies. Here you can subscribe to the list:
https://listserv.gwdg.de/mailman/listinfo/submicron-l
DGE (German Society of Electron Microscopy) and the PANOS working group
The PANOS (Preparation and Imaging of Native Organic Systems) working group of the German Society for Electron Microscopy (DGE) is organised by members of the DGE who work in the field of biomedical electron microscopy. We organise regular annual spring meetings to promote exchange and discuss interesting topics. This meeting is open to non-members of the DGE.
https://www.dge-homepage.de/
Information is exchanged via a mailing list: https://listserv.gwdg.de/mailman/listinfo/panos-list