VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY
RESEARCH ELECTRON MICROSCOPY RESOURCE
Director: W. Gray Jerome, Ph.D.

Description:
The EM Resource is a full service microscopy facility which serves the ultrastructural research needs of the Institution. The laboratory is staffed by a facilities engineer, and two technicians. As an institutional EM resource, the laboratory is fully equipped to carry out numerous aspects of "routine" as well as specialized electron microscopy. Included in the specialized services available through the resource are: preparative techniques, such as embedding and sectioning, critical point drying, high resolution low angle and rotary shadowing, and cryo-IVEM; research techniques, such as immuno- and enzyme- cytochemistry, autoradiography, and whole-mount microscopy; analytical techniques, such as on- and off-line microcomputer based systems for image processing, pattern analysis, 3-D reconstruction. In addition, collaboration between the resource and the engineering department provide access to intermediate voltage electron microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and X-ray microanalysis. The director has extensive knowledge of all of these techniques. The facility has a fully equipped photographic darkroom and an extensive array of computer software for image processing and analysis. The resource also provide education and training in microscope operation, sample preparation and experimental design.

Equipment:
The laboratory has 1400 square feet of space and houses preparative space and the following major items of equipment.

• Philips CM-12, 120 keV, with high resolution eucentric goniometer state and Gatan cryotransfer stage. In addition to the standard photographic camera, the facility has purchased a side mounted high resolution CCD camera system for the microscope to facilitate digital image collection and analysis.
  
  
• Reichert Ultracut-3 microtome. Plans are underway to equip this microtome for cryoultramicrotomy.
  
  
• Denton DV-502 evaporators.
  
  
• Slam and plunge freezing equipment.
  
  
• A computer imaging room containing additional workstations, digital imaging, processing and analysis software, and digital printing capabilities. Included are software packages for 3-D reconstruction, pattern recognition, and quantitation. All computers are networked.
  
  
• In addition, the School of Engineering has a Philips CM-20 Intermediate Voltage Electron microscope with STEM capability and a Hitachi X-650 scanning electron microscope with both EDS and WDS capabilities. These instruments are available to all University users and guidance and training in use of the equipment for biological samples is provided by the Electron Microscopy Resource.