Site-specific 3D imaging of cells and tissues with a dual beam microscope.

ABSTRACT: Current approaches to 3D imaging at subcellular resolution using confocal microscopy and electron tomography, while powerful, are limited to relatively thin and transparent specimens. Here we report on the use of a new generation of dual beam electron microscopes capable of site-specific imaging of the interior of cellular and tissue specimens at spatial resolutions about an order of magnitude better than those currently achieved with optical microscopy. The principle of imaging is based on using a focused ion beam to create a cut at a designated site in the specimen, followed by viewing the newly generated surface with a scanning electron beam. Iteration of these two steps several times thus results in the generation of a series of surface maps of the specimen at regularly spaced interval

SUBMITTER: Heymann JA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC1647295 | biostudies-literature | 2006 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature