Microscopy Center
The LSU Vet Med Microscopy Center is a suite of rooms housed on the third floor of the LSU School of the Veterinary Medicine Building on the LSU Campus. The entry points for the Center are rooms 3444 and 3434. The Microscopy Center welcomes visitors and users from all areas.
The Microscopy Center is a cost service center. The center provides service from sample preparation to image analysis. Currently, the center has transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM), laser capture microdissection (LCM), and several fluorescence microscopes. All of these instruments are fully functional for regular and advanced research. Training can be provided by the Microscopy Center. With more than 20 years of experience, we provide high quality and user-satisfied service.
Instruments
Transmission Electron Microscope
TEM (JEOL JEM-1011)
TEM is an imaging technique where a beam of electrons is focused onto a specimen causing a magnified image to appear on a phosphorescent screen or on photographic film.
The TEM in the Center is a compact high performance TEM. Its high-contrast objective lens pole piece combines the highest possible contrast and brightness with optimum resolution. The high resolution digital camera allows the users to keep images in their own computers.
The TEM in the center can be used in all areas of biological and biomedical investigations because of its ability to view the finest cell structures. The resolution of the TEM is 0.2 nm lattice and the magnification can be up to 600K.
The TEM in the center can also be used by crystallographers, metallurgists or semiconductor research scientists. Because of the extremely high resolution, it provides great benefit for nanotechnology research.
Scanning Electron Microscope
SEM (FEI Quanta 200)
The SEM in the Center is a high resolution environmental microscope with improved image resolution and contrast. It has the capability of running in high vacuum, variable pressure and environmental modes which means that it can handle all specimens - even uncoated, non-conductive samples as well as wet samples that require being above the vapor pressure of water. The attached EDS can analyze non-conductive samples in low-vacuum.
This SEM can be used at very low electron energies (200 eV), which is very useful for imaging specimens that cannot be conductivity coated properly. It is engineered to provide maximum data – imaging and microanalysis – from all specimens, with or without preparation.
In Materials Science, this SEM can be used to obtain a fundamental understanding of material structures and properties.
Another advantage of this SEM is its degrees of freedom such as acceleration voltage, beam current, final apertures and specimen manipulation, which includes working distances between 5 and 48 mm, 360 degrees of rotation and 90 degrees of tilt.
| Resolution | High-vacuun | Low-vacuum | Extended vacuum mode (ESEM) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3.0nm at 30kV | 3.0n at 30kV | 3.0nm at 30kV | |
| 10nm at 3kV | <12nm at 3kV | ||
| Chamber Vaccum | <6e-4 Pa | 10 to 130 Pa | 10 to 2600 Pa |
Confocal Laser Scanning Microscope
CLSM (Leica TCS SP2)
The CLSM in the Center allows users to perform three-dimensional microscopy of fluorescently labeled specimens. The small pinhole in the CLSM can detect light that originates from a thin optical section. This feature is particularly well suited for the examination of thick specimens (up to 100 micrometers) for which out-of-focus light, using conventional microscopy, would obscure structural details. A three-dimensional and stereoscopic image can be generated by collecting a series of optical sections through the thickness of the specimen.
The CLSM can monitor intracellular ion concentration, dynamic morphological events of living cells, interactions between proteins, protein diffusion, etc. It is also a useful tool for materials scientists interested in the topological characterization of surfaces.
Laser Capture Microdissection
LCM (P.A.L.M. Microbeam)
The principle of laser cutting is a locally restricted ablative process without heating of the adjacent material and results in a clear cut gap between your desired sample area and the surrounding tissue. The laser capture in the Center has following features
- the only fully non-contact laser-based micromanipulation and microdissection technology on the market;
- clear cut gap avoids contamination from neighboring tissue;
- no interference from the laser with your biological material;
- facilitate and accelerate micromanipulations;
- suitable for most routinely prepared cell and tissue samples;
- ideal starting point for highly sensitive downstream analyses;
- isolation and even recultivation of living cells.
LCM is ideal for excising a specific tissue from frozen sections from which RNA can be isolated to measure the expression of a given gene in that tissue.
Fees for Users with non-LSU Accounts
You must LOGIN to use the Microscopy Center scheduling calendars. Choose the dates and times you wish to schedule. Please do not schedule more than four hours per day on an instrument. Make your hours contiguous wherever possible. If you need assistance be sure you arrange it before you schedule time. You may cancel your scheduled time but abuse of cancellations and no-shows may be billed for their scheduled times regardless of whether they actually use the instrument.
Call or email Dr. Wu for a user ID and password (225-578-9898 or xiw138@lsu.edu) to schedule a microscope using the link below.
Contacts