Reichert ultramicrotomes and cryo-attachments

The facility houses two Reichert Ultracut E ultramicrotomes, used for cutting ultrathin sections, on either glass or diamond knives, for transmission electron microscopy.  These instruments are the ‘Cadillac’ of the ultramicrotome world.  They are extremely well designed, robust and easy to use, and generate superb sections.

The facility also possesses cryo-attachments for these microtomes, making them capable of cutting ultrathin cryo-sections, which are of prime value in immunolabelling studies when conventional methods must be avoided.

Polaroid SprintScan 45 film scanner

The facility possesses a Polaroid SprintScan 45, which is used for digitizing images directly from electron micrograph negatives (preferable to flatbed scanning of positive prints).  Digitized images can then be manipulated, combined, labelled, etc. in photo-editing programs such as Photoshop, to produce finished digital files which can be printed on a high quality computer printer, or transmitted for publication as a digital file.

Darkroom facilities

Attached to the facility is a darkroom dedicated to printing of electron micrographs.  Enlargement is carried out on a Durst enlarger, and prints are developed on a completely automated Ilford print processor.  Time from exposure of print to finished, dried print is less than two minutes.