Crosshair, semi-automated targeting for electron microscopy with a motorised ultramicrotome.

ABSTRACT: Volume electron microscopy (EM) is a time-consuming process - often requiring weeks or months of continuous acquisition for large samples. In order to compare the ultrastructure of a number of individuals or conditions, acquisition times must therefore be reduced. For resin-embedded samples, one solution is to selectively target smaller regions of interest by trimming with an ultramicrotome. This is a difficult and labour-intensive process, requiring manual positioning of the diamond knife and sample, and much time and training to master. Here, we have developed a semi-automated workflow for targeting with a modified ultramicrotome. We adapted two recent commercial systems to add motors for each rotational axis (and also each translational axis for one system), allowing precise and automat

SUBMITTER: Meechan K 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9665851 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature