Episode 4: Automated Volume-EM with Serial Block-Face Imaging

Intricate 3D ultrastructural information can be delivered by SEM technologies and methods, known collectively as Volume EM (vEM). vEM drives new discoveries in neurobiology, cancer research, developmental biology, plant science, and more. This six-part webinar series will explore the technological foundations of vEM imaging and highlight the growing number of application areas.

Complete understanding of biological structures and functions needs three-dimensional imaging to better depict their original view. Serial Block-Face Scanning Electron Microscopy (SBF-SEM) offers new opportunities to capture volume information in a slice-and-view automated fashion. In this webinar, latest breakthroughs in SBF-SEM instrumentation will be shown, focusing on Volutome technology and its improvements in resolution, speed and automation.

Key Learnings:

• The basics of volumetric imaging with SBF-SEM
• Consideration and comparison of different en bloc staining procedures to speed up tissue preparation while ensuring sample preservation and good resulting contrast
• Strategies to maximize the final imaging outcome (i.e., mounting techniques, sample discharge with the focal charge compensation)
• Examination of approaches for 3D reconstruction