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.

A Guide to Cryo-Electron Tomography

Cryo-electron tomography (CryoET) is used to resolve biomolecules within their cellular environment down to an unprecedented resolution below one nanometer.

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

Cross Section Ion Beam Milling of Battery Components

Sample Preparation of Lithium battery systems requires high quality surface preparation to evaluate their internal structure and morphology. Due to the brittle materials involved, preparing pristine…

How to Successfully Perform Live-Cell CLEM

The Leica Nano workflow provides a streamlined live-cell CLEM solution for getting insight bout structural changes of cellular components over time. Besides the technical handling described in the…

The Cryo-CLEM Journey

This article describes the Cryo-CLEM technology and the benefits it can provide for scientists. Additionally, some scientific publications are highlighted. Recent developments in cryo electron…

How to Keep Your Samples Under Physiological Conditions

The Coral Life workflow combines dynamic data with the best possible sample fixation by high pressure freezing. However, good sample preservation won’t help if your cells are stressed by temperature…

Exploring the Structure and Life Cycle of Viruses

The SARS-CoV-2 outbreak started in late December 2019 and has since reached a global pandemic, leading to a worldwide battle against COVID-19. The ever-evolving electron microscopy methods offer a…

Fast, High-quality Vitrification with the EM ICE High Pressure Freezer

The EM ICE High Pressure Freezer was developed with a unique freezing principle and uses only a single pressurization and cooling liquid: liquified nitrogen (LN2). This design enables three major…

Cryo FIB lamella - Overlay of SEM and confocal fluorescence image. Target structure in yeast cells (nuclear pore proteine Nup159-Atg8-split Venus, red) marked by an arrow. Scale bar: 5 µm. Alegretti et al., Nature 586, 796-800 (2020).

Targeting Active Recycling Nuclear Pore Complexes using Cryo Confocal Microscopy

In this article, how cryo light microscopy and, in particular cryo confocal microscopy, is used to improve the reliability of cryo EM workflows is described. The quality of the EM grids and samples is…

Investigating Synapses in Brain Slices with Enhanced Functional Electron Microscopy

A fundamental question of neuroscience is: what is the relationship between structural and functional properties of synapses? Over the last few decades, electrophysiology has shed light on synaptic…