Electron Microscopy

The Diagnostic Electron Microscopy Laboratory offers a full range of state-of-the-art routine and specialized diagnostic ultrastructural analyses. These include transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), scanning transmission electron microscopy and energy dispersive spectroscopy (STEM-EDX), and X-ray diffraction. 

 These techniques allow for examination of both whole mount specimens and thin sections of tissues. STEM-EDX is a valuable tool for use in determining the elemental composition of a sample with the ability to detect the presence of elements and their location within tissues or cells. The technique can detect elements at concentrations down to parts per million, and is useful in analysis of foreign body reactions in some tissues and for some forensic analyses. X-ray diffraction is used in determining if a certain structure or body detected with TEM has a crystalline structure or if it has a regular periodicity (for example proteins in crystalline form, or the regular periodicity of collagen). This is a clinical service laboratory which strives for rapid turnaround times (TATs). For routine TEM and SEM studies, preliminary information is generally available within two working days, and final information, including micrographs, is expected to be ready three working days from receipt of the specimen. Specialized studies take longer, and should be scheduled ahead of time to allow for instrumentation and sample preparation.