Related Experiment Video
Updated: Feb 5, 2026
09:21
Serial Block-Face Scanning Electron Microscopy SBF-SEM of Biological Tissue Samples
Published on: March 26, 2021
8.5K
Serial block face scanning electron microscopy in cell biology: Applications and technology
David Smith1, Tobias Starborg1
1Wellcome Trust Centre for Cell-Matrix Research, Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health, University of Manchester, Michael Smith Building, Oxford Road, Manchester, M13 9PT, United Kingdom.
Tissue & Cell
|September 18, 2018
Summary
Serial block face scanning electron microscopy (SBFSEM) enhances three-dimensional electron microscopy (3DEM) for large-scale cellular ultrastructure studies. This technique offers high resolution and broad field-of-view imaging, advancing fields like connectomics.
Area of Science:
- Electron Microscopy
- Cellular Biology
- Imaging Techniques
Background:
- Three-dimensional electron microscopy (3DEM) faces challenges in large-scale cellular ultrastructure analysis.
- Existing 3DEM modalities have limitations in reliability, availability, and throughput.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review Serial Block Face Scanning Electron Microscopy (SBFSEM) as a key 3DEM technique.
- To focus on the technical aspects and cellular applications of SBFSEM.
- To discuss associated image analysis techniques.
Main Methods:
- Serial Block Face Scanning Electron Microscopy (SBFSEM) enables high-resolution 3D imaging.
- SBFSEM provides a large field of view for ultrastructural investigation.
- The technique has improved the reliability, availability, and throughput of 3DEM.
Main Results:
- SBFSEM resolves biological ultrastructure, including membranes and vesicles.
- It has become a major tool for ultrastructural investigation since its introduction in 2004.
- Applications span diverse biological fields such as connectomics and cellular biology.
Conclusions:
- SBFSEM significantly advances large-scale 3D studies of cellular ultrastructure.
- The technique offers a powerful solution to previous limitations in 3DEM.
- Continued technical development and application in image analysis are crucial.
Related Concept Videos
01:07Scanning Electron Microscopy
5.5K
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...
Fundamental Principles
Accelerated...
5.5K
01:25Applications Of NMR In Biology
4.5K
Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy is a very valuable analytical technique for researchers. It has been used for more than 50 years as an analytical tool. F. Bloch and E. Purcell formulated NMR in 1946 and won the 1952 Nobel Prize in Physics for their work. Biological macromolecules such as proteins, nucleic acids, lipids, and organic molecules including pharmaceutical compounds, can be studied using this versatile tool that exploits the magnetic properties of certain nuclei.
4.5K
01:25Overview of Electron Microscopy
14.7K
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.
14.7K
01:15Transmission Electron Microscopy
7.3K
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...
7.3K
01:20Immunogold Electron Microscopy
5.5K
Immunoelectron microscopy utilizes immunogold labeling of endogenous proteins with specific antibodies to detect and localize these proteins in cells and tissues. The procedure provides insights into the distribution and quantification of protein under different stimulation conditions offering clues about their functions. Conjugating highly electron-dense gold particles with primary or secondary antibodies allow antigen detection on and within cells, with high resolution and specificity.
5.5K
01:28Cryo-electron Microscopy
4.3K
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...
4.3K