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Related Concept Videos

Scanning Electron Microscopy01:07

Scanning Electron Microscopy

A scanning electron microscope (SEM) is used to study the surface features of a sample by using an electron beam that scans the sample surface in a two-dimensional manner. Typically, areas between ~1 centimeter to 5 micrometers in width can be imaged. SEM can be used to image bacteria, viruses, tissues as well as larger samples like insects. Conventional SEM gives a magnification ranging from 20X to 30,000X and spatial resolution of 50 to 100 nanometers.
Fundamental Principles
Accelerated...
Electron Microscope Tomography and Single-particle Reconstruction01:07

Electron Microscope Tomography and Single-particle Reconstruction

Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) can be used to determine the 3D structure of biological samples with the help of techniques such as electron microscope tomography and single-particle reconstruction. While single-particle reconstruction can examine macromolecules and macromolecular complexes in vitro conditions only, tomography permits the study of cell components or small cells in vivo.
Electron Tomography
Electron tomography can be performed either in TEM or STEM (scanning transmission...
Overview of Electron Microscopy01:25

Overview of Electron Microscopy

The wavelengths of visible light ultimately limit the maximum theoretical resolution of images created by light microscopes. Most light microscopes can only magnify 1000X, and a few can magnify up to 1500X. Electrons, like electromagnetic radiation, can behave like waves, but with wavelengths of 0.005 nm, they produce significantly greater resolution up to 0.05 nm as compared to 500 nm for visible light. An electron microscope (EM) can create a sharp image that is magnified up to 2,000,000X.
Cryo-electron Microscopy01:28

Cryo-electron Microscopy

Conventional electron microscopy (EM) involves dehydration, fixation, and staining of biological samples, which distorts the native state of biological molecules and results in several artifacts. Also, the high-energy electron beam damages the sample and makes it difficult to obtain high-resolution images. These issues can be addressed using cryo-EM, which uses frozen samples and gentler electron beams. The technique was developed by Jacques Dubochet, Joachim Frank, and Richard Henderson, for...
Overview of Microscopy Techniques01:22

Overview of Microscopy Techniques

The early pioneers of microscopy opened a window into the invisible world of microorganisms. In 1830, Joseph Jackson Lister created an essentially modern light microscope. The 20th century saw the development of microscopes that leveraged nonvisible light, such as fluorescence microscopy that uses an ultraviolet light source and electron microscopy that uses short-wavelength electron beams. These advances significantly improved magnification, image resolution, and contrast. By comparison, the...
Transmission Electron Microscopy01:15

Transmission Electron Microscopy

In 1931, physicist Ernst Ruska—building on the idea that magnetic fields can direct an electron beam just as lenses can direct a beam of light in an optical microscope—developed the first prototype of the electron microscope. This development led to the development of the field of electron microscopy. In the transmission electron microscope (TEM), electrons are produced by a hot tungsten element and accelerated by a potential difference in an electron gun, which gives them up to 400 keV in...

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jul 3, 2026

In Situ Detection and Single Cell Quantification of Metal Oxide Nanoparticles Using Nuclear Microprobe Analysis
14:53

In Situ Detection and Single Cell Quantification of Metal Oxide Nanoparticles Using Nuclear Microprobe Analysis

Published on: February 3, 2018

Scanning electron microscopy of nuclear structure.

Terence D Allen1, Sandra A Rutherford, Stephen Murray

  • 1Department of Structural Cell Biology, Paterson Institute for Cancer Research, University of Manchester, Manchester M20 4BX, United Kingdom.

Methods in Cell Biology
|July 12, 2008
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) offers new methods for visualizing nuclear structure. Surface imaging provides high-resolution 3D nuclear organization insights, overcoming limitations of traditional transmission electron microscopy.

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Focussed Ion Beam Milling and Scanning Electron Microscopy of Brain Tissue
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Focussed Ion Beam Milling and Scanning Electron Microscopy of Brain Tissue

Published on: July 6, 2011

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Last Updated: Jul 3, 2026

In Situ Detection and Single Cell Quantification of Metal Oxide Nanoparticles Using Nuclear Microprobe Analysis
14:53

In Situ Detection and Single Cell Quantification of Metal Oxide Nanoparticles Using Nuclear Microprobe Analysis

Published on: February 3, 2018

Focussed Ion Beam Milling and Scanning Electron Microscopy of Brain Tissue
08:57

Focussed Ion Beam Milling and Scanning Electron Microscopy of Brain Tissue

Published on: July 6, 2011

Area of Science:

  • Cell Biology
  • Microscopy Techniques

Background:

  • Visualizing the three-dimensional (3D) nuclear structure is challenging due to its size and fibrous composition.
  • Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) struggles with large-scale 3D reconstructions from thin sections.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To present scanning electron microscopy (SEM) methods for nuclear structure visualization.
  • To highlight SEM's potential for understanding nuclear organization.

Main Methods:

  • Utilizing field emission scanning electron microscopy (SEM) for high-resolution imaging.
  • Employing surface imaging techniques for nuclear structure analysis.

Main Results:

  • SEM surface imaging effectively visualizes the nuclear envelope and pore complexes.
  • Promising results for internal nuclear organization, including during cell division.

Conclusions:

  • SEM, particularly surface imaging, offers a powerful approach to studying nuclear structure.
  • This technique has the potential to significantly advance our understanding of nuclear organization.