High pressure freezing with the possibility of light and electrical stimulation

High Pressure Freezer Leica EM ICE

High pressure freezing is key for the study of intricate changes in fine structure or cellular dynamics.

  • Cryo-immobilize your aqueous samples under high pressure with a unique freezing principle and uncover secrets of the cellular process.
  • Capture and resolve highly dynamic processes at the nanometer scale with millisecond precision.

The EM ICE solution, combining superior high pressure freezing with the possibility of light and electrical stimulation, is the platform for your discoveries.

Superior ultrastructural preservation and TEM image contrast for Drosophila tissue

Superior cryo-fixation quality

Currently cryo-fixation is the only way to fix cellular constituents without introducing significant structural alterations.

The EM ICE solution uses a unique, alcohol-free freezing principle to allow a superior cryo-fixation of the specimen enabling better quality results to be obtained:

  • No alcohol in the chamber leads to a faster pressure increase and immediate cooling of the specimen
  • No alcohol residue on the carrier or the specimen
  • Precisely define the timing for light and electrical stimulation

Learn more: White Paper: Performing high pressure freezing with EM ICE solution

Application Note: Ultrastructural preservation and contrast in drosophilia tissue

Why Electrical Stimulation?

To resolve controversial questions in neurobiology, it is essential to employ new techniques for visualizing cellular activity.

The EM ICE solution offers electrical stimulation of neurons with millisecond precision and complete coordination of electrical discharge at the moment of freezing. It gives neurobiologists the most reliable tool for capturing and imaging action potential and membrane trafficking events.

See our Webinar

Webinar on how to reveal cellular dynamics with millisecond precision

SEM image of high pressure frozen sun screen lotion without UV light exposure

SEM image of high pressure frozen sun screen lotion 500 milliseconds after UV light exposure

Why light stimulation?

Synchronizing light stimulation and high pressure freezing enables you to visualize in photosensitive specimens:

  • highly dynamic processes and
  • structural changes

with nanometer resolution and millisecond precision. This innovation opens up new possibilities for life science researchers.

With the EM ICE solution you can:

  • Apply light stimulation to any light sensitive compounds
  • Photoactivate various biological specimens
  • Study, beyond the limits of current understanding, highly dynamic processes, such as neurotransmission at synapses
  • Benefit from light stimulation, including precise correlation between the light pulses and moment of freezing
  • Add with one click any of the 5 different LED light modules to the instrument. Each module is automatically recognized by the software and recorded in the log file.

Application Note "EM ICE Sun Cream Lotion"

Focus on your sample

You can load the sample in the EM ICE solution with one move.

Then, when you close the cover of the loading station, you trigger the perfectly aligned sequence of the cartridge assembly and freezing process.

No additional actions are needed, as the loading and freezing process are fully automated.

The specimen goes from fresh to frozen in 1 second!

Efficiency included

You can complete your workflow fast with the EM ICE solution.

Recovery between freezing cycles is only one minute – so no waiting necessary.

The sample storage Dewar is refilled automatically with liquid nitrogen (LN2) – no maintenance necessary. It enables you to:

  • Use 3 positions with a capacity to hold up to  3 different specimens
  • Perform up to 9 consecutive freezing cycles
  • Choose the number of specimens per position with programmed rotation and differentiation between specimens and conditions

The LN2 Dewar is drained automatically – no action necessary

Flexible & ready for upgrade

The Leica EM ICE gives you the flexibility you need for your research.

Feel free to:

  • Choose the type of environmental control (loading station or table and chamber temperature control)
  • Retrofit the instrument with light stimulation mode at any time
  • Upgrade to environmental control (table heating and/or environmental chamber) whenever you need it

All upgrades (light stimulation module and environmental settings) can be performed directly in your lab by the Leica Service Team. There is no need to return the instrument to the factory.

Leica EM ICE High Pressure Freezer

Leica Nano Workflow

#Capturelife the moment it happens

The Nano workflow from Leica Microsystems combines live-cell correlative light and electron microscopy (CLEM) with time-specific fixation by high-pressure freezing in a proven and streamlined workflow. This combination enables the investigation of dynamic events with nanometer resolution.

Thanks to a seamless interface between high resolution live-cell imaging with the THUNDER Imager Nano and a fast transfer to the EM ICE, precious events can be snap-frozen within seconds. The Nano workflow provides you an integrated solution, from sample incubation until EM imaging, that will boost your research.

Learn more about the Leica Nano workflow.

Last, but not least

The team that developed the High Pressure Freezer Leica EM ICE has a total of 145 years experience in EM sample preparation and works closely together sharing one vision:

To provide you with the perfect instrument for your work!

145 years experience in EM sample preparation

Interested to know more?

Talk to our experts. We are happy to answer all your questions and concerns.

Contact Us

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