How innovations in methodology offer new prospects for volume electron microscopy

Area of Science:

• Biological imaging
• Structural biology
• Nanotechnology

Background:

• Detailed biological structure knowledge is crucial for understanding biological organization from organs to proteins.
• Volume electron microscopy (volume EM) offers high-resolution 3D structural insights into tissues at the nanometer scale.
• Conventional electron microscopy throughput has historically limited sample size and quantity.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review recent trends and advancements in volume electron microscopy.
• To discuss emerging methods for increasing throughput in volume EM.
• To highlight implications for sample preparation, image analysis, and data management.

Main Methods:

• Review of recent literature on volume electron microscopy advancements.
• Discussion of new methodologies in image acquisition and data processing.
• Analysis of bottlenecks in the volume EM pipeline.

Main Results:

• Methodological improvements are revolutionizing volume EM, enabling imaging of whole organs and small organisms.
• Increased image acquisition throughput has created challenges in sample preparation, image analysis, and data management.
• Significant progress has been made in automated image analysis and annotation tools.

Conclusions:

• Volume EM is rapidly advancing, offering unprecedented structural insights.
• Addressing bottlenecks in sample preparation, analysis, and data management is crucial for realizing the full potential of volume EM.
• Future developments will likely focus on further increasing throughput and improving data handling for large-scale 3D biological imaging.