The Laboratory of Electron Microscopy consists of an advanced research facility with a high technological instrumental content, making it a valuable interdisciplinary tool for morphological and ultrastructural investigations in plant, animal, food, and material sciences.
Research topics
• High-resolution morphological investigations in various organic (plant or animal tissues), inorganic (soil, metals, synthetic materials) and food matrices
• Ultrastructural research on the presence and distribution of pathogens in plant and vectors tissues
• Investigation to identify sub-cellular modification on plant or animal tissues
• Morphological studies on phytopathogenic and non-pathogenic fungi and bacteria of agronomic or food interest.
Laboratory equipment
• 2 transmission electron microscopes (TEM): PHILIPS CM10 - PHILIPS CM12 (S)TEM with EDAX detector
• 2 scanning electron microscopes (SEM): PHILIPS SEM 515 - HITACHI S-510
• 1 ultramicrotome: REICHERT ULTRAMICROTOME OM-U
• 1 carbonator: EDWARDS 306 COATER
• 3 evaporators: EMITECH K500 - EDWARDS S150A SPUTTER COATER - EMSCOPE SM300
• 2 dehydrators (Critical Point Dryer, CPD): EMITECH K850, BALZERS UNION CPD
Services and consultancy
The Electron Microscopy laboratory supports:
• Morphological evaluations of customer samples
• Surveys and evaluations of specific technological aspects in the plant, animal, medical, and food fields
• Diagnosis and identification of plant pathogens or pests
• Training courses for external personnel.
Teaching Activities and Training
The Electron Microscopy laboratory supports:
• Practical activities for bachelor's and master's courses, including training on TEM and SEM technologies for imaging (transmitted, secondary, backscattered electrons), as well as the technologies for samples preparation (collection, dehydration, fixation, coloring, carbonation, or metallization processes, embedding of tissues in resins, trimming, sectioning, and immunomicroscopy techniques)
• Bachelor's and master's theses preparation related to morphological and ultrastructural investigations
• PhD and post-doctoral research projects. PhD students and research fellows independently conduct their research in the laboratory.