The New Gold Standard:
Leica’s EM IGL system makes fast work of immunogold labeling

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The system automatically moves preloaded 24-well slides to a holder containing nickel grids attached to a magnet. The samples are processed in a humidity-controlled environment, using one of 99 possible pre-set programs. “The set-up process takes only ? hour, and up to 24 grids can be processed simultaneously,” says Ann Korsen, product manager for Leica Microsystems.

The EM IGL can be used for cryo-ultrathin sections as well as sections of embedded samples, and can be used for routine staining or counterstaining, says Korsen. Yi notes that the initial set-up is a bit more complicated than the manual method because users must take special care to prevent contamination of the grids. Korsen says that contamination would only be a problem if the user overloaded the reagent tray or failed to clean the grids properly prior to the start of the run.

Korsen adds, “The amount of labor and time saved by the automated procedure more than offsets the half-hour preparation time and the EM IGL shouldmake things simpler for those people who are interested in localizing proteins in cells, but decided not to because they lacked the time.”

Scientific and Technical Information
Edition CDR 8, pp. 123–124
August 2005