Division of Biology and Medicine
BioMed Core Facilities

Thermo Apreo VS SEM for serial block-face imaging

Equipped for standard scanning electron microscopy as well as serial-block face imaging.

Breadcrumb

Bioimaging Facility

Thermo Apreo VS SEM for serial block-face imaging

Equipped for standard scanning electron microscopy as well as serial-block face imaging.

Overview

Apreo VS SEM

The Apreo Volume Scope (VS) is equipped for standard scanning electron microscopy, as well as serial-block face imaging.  For serial block face imaging, ultrathin sections are cut inside the microscope and series of images are acquired from the freshly cut block face, while the sections are discarded.  The automated system is capable of imaging large z-stacks at isotropic 10x10x10 nm resolution.  The series of images can be processed for 3D reconstruction of cells and tissues, with sufficient resolution to identify small vesicles, organelles and neural connections. 

Samples for serial block-face imaging need to be processed using an enhanced contrast staining method.  Please contact the Molecular Pathology Core for assistance. Protocols are available on the Molecular Pathology Core website.

Acknowledgement Requirements

* Please acknowledge NIH support.  E.g. in publications that made use of the SEM:  The Thermo Apreo VS SEM was purchased with a high-end instrumentation grant from the Office of the Director at the National Institutes of Health (S10OD023461). 

Operation

Software

Amira software is available for stack alignment, 3D reconstruction and 3D segmentation (free of charge).  The full Amira for EM package is available on a high-end workstation in Sidney Frank Hall, room 106.  This version includes modules for analyses of large EM stacks. 

 Amira Online.  You can also install and run Amira basic on your own computer (2 floating licenses):

To use Amira Online, you need to sign up on our Amira calendar.  For access to this calendar, please email Geoffrey Williams or Robbert Creton.

Resources

To request assistance in sample preparation (e.g. fixation, mounting, sectioning, staining, immunolabeling) and imaging, please contact the Molecular Pathology Core.

Molecular Pathology Facility

The Molecular Pathology Facility provides all-inclusive histology and histopathology services, equipment and training. The core houses an automated tissue processor, a paraffin embedding center, automated microtomes, a cryostat, a vibratome and a multiheaded light microscope.

Publications

Raj DK, Das Mohapatra A, Jnawali A, Zuromski J, Jha A, Cham-Kpu G, Sherman B, Rudlaff RM, Nixon CE, Hilton N, Oleinikov AV, Chesnokov O, Merritt J, Pond-Tor S, Burns L, Jolly G, Ben Mamoun C, Kabyemela E, Muehlenbachs A, Lambert L, Orr-Gonzalez S, Gnädig NF, Fidock DA, Park S, Dvorin JD, Pardi N, Weissman D, Mui BL, Tam YK, Friedman JF, Fried M, Duffy PE, Kurtis JD. Anti-PfGARP activates programmed cell death of parasites and reduces severe malaria. Nature. 2020 Jun;582(7810):104-108. doi: 10.1038/s41586-020-2220-1. Epub 2020 Apr 22. PMID: 32427965; PMCID: PMC7372601.
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-020-2220-1

Gray EP, Browning CL, Vaslet CA, Gion KD, Green A, Liu M, Kane AB, Hurt RH. Chemical and Colloidal Dynamics of MnO2 Nanosheets in Biological Media Relevant for Nanosafety Assessment. Small. 2020 May;16(21):e2000303. doi: 10.1002/smll.202000303. Epub 2020 Mar 19. PMID: 32191401; PMCID: PMC7461694.

Sleboda DA, Stover KK, Roberts TJ. Diversity of extracellular matrix morphology in vertebrate skeletal muscle. J Morphol. 2020 Feb;281(2):160-169. doi: 10.1002/jmor.21088. Epub 2019 Dec 16. PMID: 31840868; PMCID: PMC7137673.
https://doi.org/10.1002/jmor.21088

Cabral DJ, Penumutchu S, Reinhart EM, Zhang C, Korry BJ, Wurster JI, Nilson R, Guang A, Sano WH, Rowan-Nash AD, Li H, Belenky P. Microbial Metabolism Modulates Antibiotic Susceptibility within the Murine Gut Microbiome. Cell Metab. 2019 Oct 1;30(4):800-823.e7. doi: 10.1016/j.cmet.2019.08.020. Epub 2019 Sep 12. PMID: 31523007; PMCID: PMC6948150
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cmet.2019.08.020

Khoo AS, Valentin TM, Leggett SE, Bhaskar D, Bye EM, Benmelech S, Ip BC, Wong IY. Breast Cancer Cells Transition from Mesenchymal to Amoeboid Migration in Tunable Three-Dimensional Silk-Collagen Hydrogels. ACS Biomater Sci Eng. 2019 Sep 9;5(9):4341-4354. doi: 10.1021/acsbiomaterials.9b00519. Epub 2019 Aug 14. PMID: 31517039; PMCID: PMC6739834.

Clark H, Knapik LO, Zhang Z, Wu X, Naik MT, Oulhen N, Wessel GM, Brayboy LM. Dysfunctional MDR-1 disrupts mitochondrial homeostasis in the oocyte and ovary. Sci Rep. 2019 Jul 3;9(1):9616. doi: 10.1038/s41598-019-46025-x. PMID: 31270386; PMCID: PMC6610133.
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-46025-x

Kaiser NJ, Bellows JA, Kant RJ, Coulombe KLK. Digital Design and Automated Fabrication of Bespoke Collagen Microfiber Scaffolds. Tissue Eng Part C Methods. 2019 Nov;25(11):687-700. doi: 10.1089/ten.TEC.2018.0379. Epub 2019 Aug 14. PMID: 31017039; PMCID: PMC6859695.

Brayboy LM, Clark H, Knapik LO, Schnirman RE, Wessel GM. Nitrogen mustard exposure perturbs oocyte mitochondrial physiology and alters reproductive outcomes. Reprod Toxicol. 2018 Dec;82:80-87. doi: 10.1016/j.reprotox.2018.10.002. Epub 2018 Oct 9. PMID: 30308227; PMCID: PMC7050192.

 

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/?term=OD023461&sort=date

Reservations

Reserve a microscope using the iLab calendars

Reserve a microscope using the iLab calendars

Reserve a microscope instructions

Contact

Bioimaging Facility