This project will establish a modern environmental SEM platform and automated ultramicrotome system for serial block-face scanning electron microscopy (SBFSEM) at the National Center for Microscopy and Imaging Research. This unique resource will enable researchers to more effectively bridge the technology gap between correlated ultra-high resolution light microscopy and wide field electron microscopic imaging by providing a high throughput system for the automated reconstruction of 3D tissue structure over hundreds of micrometers with a resolution sufficient to follow the thinnest cellular processes and to identify small organelles (Denk and Horstmann, 2004). This instrument will further propel pioneering activities to develop and apply emergent probe technologies for correlated light and electron microscopy of biological specimens. The shared use of this instrument will be driven by leading research projects that each require the specialized capabilities of the 3View system to advance multiscale studies ranging from cardiac mechanics, cancer (glioblastomas), mapping of neuronal circuitry, and the development of new probe chemistry for multiscale imaging.
