Descriptions of Lab Equipment

Ultracut Microtome

Function

An ultra-microtome is an essential piece of equipment in any Electron Microscopy (EM) laboratory.  Embedded brain tissue is held in the swing arm in the center of the picture above.  The tissue is moved forward very slowly and is cut using a glass or diamond knife.  The resulting sections of tissue can be as thin as 60 nanometers (nanometers are 1 billion times smaller than a meter).  This thickness allows the tissue to be viewed on an EMscope which shoots a beam of electrons through the tissue so that it can be magnified over 40000 times.  This level of magnification is necessary for effective analysis of synaptic structure.  Training on this piece of equipment is time consuming but mastering this technique is rewarding and valuable on your resume.

EM Trimmer

Function

This trimmer allows for very rapid tissue block preparation for the ultra-microtome.  Traditionally this trimming work was done by hand using flat razor blades.  This took a long time and it was difficult to master the technique.  On the trimmer above tissue blocks are held in the arm on the right of the picture and a steel grinding tool is advanced towards the tissue.  This grinder spins at very high RPM's and the resulting waste material is vacuumed away.  The resulting trimmer brain tissue blocks are clean and ready for the ultra microtome.  Training on this piece of equipment is relatively easy and compliments your efforts on the ultra microtome.

Imaging Microscope 

Function

This high powered microscope allows for orientation and digitizing of thick sections from the microtome.  This microscope is not an EMscope as it uses light instead of electrons.  The maximum magnification is only 1000X.  A digital camera is mounted to the tube at the top of the microscope and this allows for the capture of magnified images that can be subsequently displayed on the computer that is visible on the right of this picture.  The microscope and camera are also relatively easy to master.  The imaging software on the other hand takes a lot of time. 

Please ask for a lab tour and orientation to learn more about how these pieces of equipment and others allow us to visualize neurons and synapses from samples of brain tissue.