Ultramicrotomes & Cryo-Ultramicrotomes

Whether tissue sample, polymer, rubber, metals or nanoparticles, Leica ultramicrotomes provide extremely thin sections and perfect surface quality in a wide range of applications. From materials science to cancer research, our ultramicrotomes are used for many different kinds of research and quality control all over the world.

Thin sections and perfect surface quality!

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No-compromise ergonomics

Users often operate an ultramicrotome for a long period of time. Therefore, fatigue-free operation is a must for both right- and left- handed users. Ergonomic arm rests and generous adjustment options make working with ultramicrotomes from Leica Microsystems more comfortable.

Nanometer precision

Leica ultramicrotomes guarantee precision and comfort. Thanks to the fully motorized knife stages and a wealth of technical features, even beginners can prepare perfect sections. Make perfect glass knives for perfect ultrathin sections with the Leica EM KMR3 within minutes.

The instruments produce section thicknesses between 10 nm up to 15 µm. Discover the precision mechanics of the Leica EM UC7 ultramicrotome and enjoy highest quality specimen preparation for LM, TEM, SEM, or AFM examination.

Leica EM KMR3 – Knife Making – Step 2
Lowering the breaking head to its defined clamp position

Introduction to Ultramicrotomy – Mouse heart. Courtesy of Riet De Rycke, University of Gent.

Four Steps to Cryo-Section

Make your Ultramicrotome Leica EM UC6 or Leica EM UC7 a Cryoultramicrotome within minutes by mounting the cryochamber Leica EM FC7 and prepare your cryo sections (-15° to -185°C) for TEM, SEM, AFM, and LM.

ultramicrotomy related articles

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The knowledge portal of Leica Microsystems offers scientific research and teaching material on the subjects of microscopy. The content is designed to support beginners, experienced practitioners and scientists alike in their everyday work and experiments.

Water Flea Daphnia imaged by Electron Microscopy. Courtesy of Mag. Dr. Gruber, University of Vienna, Austria

Streamline your EM Sample Preparation Workflow for Biological Applications

Master EM sample preparation, including ultramicrotomy, for life sciences in this expert eBook!

Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) stained with osmium tetroxide (OsO4), sectioned with a DIATOME diamond knife at room temperature, and then imaged with HAADF TEM.

Ultramicrotomy Techniques for Materials Sectioning

Learn about ultramicrotomy for materials sectioning when investigating polymers and brittle materials with transmission (TEM) or scanning electron microscopy (SEM) or atomic force microscopy.

Introduction to Ultramicrotomy

When studying samples, to visualize their fine structure with nanometer scale resolution, most often electron microscopy is used. There are 2 types: scanning electron microscopy (SEM) which images the…

Array Tomography for SEM 3D Reconstruction

Array tomography (AT) is a 3D image reconstruction technique for high resolution, quantitative analysis of biological structures. For optimal results, ultrathin and ordered sections are an absolute…

Cryo-Electron Microscopy of Vitreous Sections (CEMOVIS) of Yeast

Application Note for Leica EM HPM100 - The sections are of yeast frozen with a Leica HPM100 high pressure freezer in the copper tube system, the cell paste was mixed with a pH 6.5 MES/dextran buffer…

Brief Introduction to Specimen Trimming

Before ultrathin sectioning a sample with an ultramicrotome it has to be pre-prepared. For this pre-preparation, special attention must be paid to the sample size (size of the section), location of…

SEM image of the full Li-NMC electrode sample, showing the two porous layers and the metal film at the center of the structure.

Ion Beam Milling Systems

When material specimen surfaces are prepared for SEM or incident light microscopy, the specimen usually undergoes multiple processes until the layer or surface to be analyzed is machined with precision. Leica Microsystems’ workflow solutions for solid state technology cover all steps required for demanding high-quality sample preparation.

Sputter Coater & Freeze Fracture Solutions

To obtain high-quality images of samples with scanning (SEM) or transmission electron microscopy (TEM), your samples need to be conductive to avoid charging. If a sample does not have a high enough conductivity, then you can quickly cover it with a conductive layer using the method of sputter coating. Also, a carbon or e-beam evaporator coating can be used. Such coatings protect the sample, allow enhancing of the EM image contrast, or can act as a TEM-grid support film for small scale samples.

Cryo Preparation Systems

High pressure freezing is often the preferred method for preserving aqueous samples in their close-to-native state, as it captures the intricate changes in fine structure or cellular dynamics. Leica Microsystems combines high pressure freezing with light stimulation or electrical stimulation: It enables you to visualize highly dynamic processes or the structural changes of samples at a nanometer resolution and with millisecond precision.