The Key Questions We Should All Be Considering for Electron Microscopy Sample Preparation
- Abstract number
- 411
- Corresponding Email
- [email protected]
- Session
- FIB Applications & EM Sample Prep Techniques in Biological Sciences
- Authors
- Dr Erin M Tranfield (1)
- Affiliations
-
1. Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência
- Keywords
Sample Preparation, Electron Microscopy, Core Facility
- Abstract text
There is a lot of literature out there that together contains a multitude of ways to prepare samples for electron microscopy. At times it can be overwhelming. How does one start? Do we go to the literature from today? Do we look at the literature from the 1970s? How do we find the key articles? Do we ask colleagues? How do we distinguish what is a good sample preparation protocol and what is a not-so-good protocol? In this presentation I explain how I approach sample preparation. I will talk about the questions I ask, the answers I am looking for and the resources I turn to when I am stuck. Part of this story will focus on tricks we have learned (sometimes the hard way) to prepare samples and the struggles we still face in our core facility.