Science Lab

Learn. Share. Contribute. The knowledge portal of Leica Microsystems. Find scientific research and teaching material on the subject of microscopy. The portal supports beginners, experienced practitioners and scientists alike in their everyday work and experiments. Explore interactive tutorials and application notes, discover the basics of microscopy as well as high-end technologies. Become part of the Science Lab community and share your expertise.

Trichomonas parasite in mouse gut, rOTO Embedding and serial sections for array tomography imaging. Sample courtesy Isabelle Guerin-Bonne, Low Kay En, Electron Microscopy Unit, Yong loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore

Integrated Serial Sectioning and Cryo-EM Workflows for 3D Biological Imaging

This on-demand webinar explores how integrated tools can support electron microscopy workflows from sample preparation to image analysis. Experts Andreia Pinto, Adrian Boey, and Hoyin Lai present the…

Mouse brain slice which was immunostained with GFAP-A647 and imaged using a THUNDER Imager Tissue. Courtesy of H. Xu, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, USA.

A Guide to Neuroscience Research

Neuroscience often requires investigating challenging specimens to better understand the nervous system and disorders. Leica microscopes helps neuroscientists obtain insights into neuronal functions.

Mastering Polymer Sectioning with Helmut Gnaegi

When it comes to ultramicrotomy, few names carry the weight of Helmut Gnaegi. As co-founder of Diatome, a global leader in diamond knife technology, Helmut has spent decades refining the art and…

C. elegans embedded in Lowicryl® HM20; pharynx showing red fluorescence (mCherry). The overview shows a front view onto the resin capsule formed by the bottom of a flow-through chamber of the EM AFS2. The capsule was pretrimmed manually. The blockface was trimmed automatically using the AutoTrim function of UC Enuity guided by fluorescence of the worm. Edge length of both squares in relation to the images is 250 µm.

How Fluorescence Guides Sectioning of Resin-embedded EM Samples

Electron microscopes, including transmission electron microscopes (TEM) and scanning electron microscopes (SEM), are widely utilized to gain detailed structural information about biological samples or…

C. elegans nematode embedded in Epon epoxy resin, contrasted with osmium tetroxide. The resin block was pretrimmed by hand. Scale bar: 500 µm.

How to Save Time and Samples by Automated Ultramicrotomy

This article describes how 3D micro-CT data of a resin-embedded electron microscopy sample can be used to trim the specimen down to a defined target plane prior to sectioning. The interactive and…

How to Automatically Obtain Fluorescent Cells of Interest in a Block-face

Block-face created by automatic trimming under fluorescence. Mammalian cells of interest, stained with CellTrackerTM Green are visualized within the block-face using the UC Enuity equipped with the…

Improve Your Ultramicrotomy Workflow with Automated Sectioning

Discover advanced digital ultramicrotomy tools for fast and accurate automated sectioning. Learn about autoalignment, and efficient sample trimming leveraging 3D µCT data. See application examples…

Workflow Solutions for Sample Preparation Methods for Material Science

This brochure presents and explains appropriate workflow solutions for the most frequently required sample preparation methods for material science samples.

Camera image during auto alignment. The feedback lines indicate if the correct edges in the image are detected. Green: Vertical center line; Magenta: Upper edge of the light gap; White: Lower edge of the light gap (not visible here, falling together with red line); Red: Knife edge; Blue: Left and right edge of the block face being automatically detected.

Automatic Alignment of Sample and Knife for High Sectioning Quality

Automatic alignment of sample and knife on the ultramicrotome UC Enuity, enabling even untrained users to create ultrathin sections with reduced risk of losing precious sections.