OSU Microscopy Facility
The OSU Microscopy Laboratory has several pieces of equipment for processing samples at low temperatures (-20°C down to -140°C) to avoid chemical fixation at room temperatures and embedding at high temperatures. This technology can be applied to biological samples including tissues for immunocytochemistry and in situ hybridization studies as well as industrial samples including polymers.
Cryofixation
The Leica EM CPC Cryoworkstation is used for plunge freezing of tissues and other samples in liquid propane or for freezing samples in ethane on a "bare" grid. Samples "fixed" in this manner can be transferred to the cryoultramicrotome and sectioned in the frozen state or they can be transferred to a freeze substitution device for further cryoprocessing. The EM CPC workstation can also be used with variable temperatures for other applications.
Cryo-ultramicrotomy
The Leica EM UC6 Ultramicrotome with Leica ICA analog camera and Leica EM FC6 Cryochamber is used sectioning biological and industrial samples at temperatures from -15 to -185°C. It can be used to prepare sections for TEM as well as SEM, AFM and light microscopy.
Cryo-ultramicrotomy
The Leica EM UC6 Ultramicrotome with Leica ICA analog camera and Leica EM FC6 Cryochamber is used sectioning biological and industrial samples at temperatures from -15 to -185°C. It can be used to prepare sections for TEM as well as SEM, AFM and light microscopy.
Cryosectioning for Light Microscopy
The Lecia Cryostat is used to prepare frozen (-20°C) sections ranging in thickness from 4 to 30μm, mainly used in light microscopy for immunohistochemistry and in situ hybridization applications.
