Serial section scanning electron microscopy (S3EM) on silicon wafers for ultra-structural volume imaging of cells and tissues.

ABSTRACT: High resolution, three-dimensional (3D) representations of cellular ultrastructure are essential for structure function studies in all areas of cell biology. While limited subcellular volumes have been routinely examined using serial section transmission electron microscopy (ssTEM), complete ultrastructural reconstructions of large volumes, entire cells or even tissue are difficult to achieve using ssTEM. Here, we introduce a novel approach combining serial sectioning of tissue with scanning electron microscopy (SEM) using a conductive silicon wafer as a support. Ribbons containing hundreds of 35 nm thick sections can be generated and imaged on the wafer at a lateral pixel resolution of 3.7 nm by recording the backscattered electrons with the in-lens detector of the SEM. The resulting elec

SUBMITTER: Horstmann H 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3327660 | biostudies-literature | 2012

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature