Biological volume EM with focused Ga ion beam depends on formation of radiation-resistant Ga-rich layer at block face.

ABSTRACT: Volume electron microscopy (vEM) enables biologists to visualize nanoscale 3D ultrastructure of entire eukaryotic cells and tissues prepared by heavy atom staining and plastic embedding. The highest resolution vEM technique is focused ion-beam scanning electron microscopy (FIB-SEM), which provides nearly isotropic (~5-10 nm) spatial resolution at fluences of > 10,000 e^-/nm². However, it is not clear how such high resolution is achievable because serial block-face (SBF) SEM, which incorporates an in-situ ultramicrotome instead of a Ga⁺ FIB beam, results in radiation-induced collapse of similar specimen blocks at fluences of only ~20 e^-/nm². Moreover, the z-resolution (perpendicular to block-face) in FIB-SEM is substantially better than

SUBMITTER: Yang Z 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11722218 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature