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Updated: Aug 27, 2025

Utilization of Capsules for Negative Staining of Viral Samples within Biocontainment
Published on: July 19, 2017
[Virus detection by electron microscopy: past, present and future]
1Université François-Rabelais, CHRU de Tours; Inserm U 966, Plate-forme de microscopie électronique, France.
Abstract:
Viruses are very small and most of them can be seen only by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). TEM has therefore made a major contribution to virology, including the discovery of many viruses, the diagnosis of various viral infections, and fundamental investigations of virus/host cell interaction. However, TEM has gradually been replaced by more sensitive methods, such as the polymerase chain reaction. In research, new imaging techniques for fluorescence light microscopy have supplanted TEM, making it possible to study live cells and dynamic interactions between viruses and the cellular machinery. Nevertheless, TEM remains essential for certain aspects of virology. It is very useful for the initial identification of unknown viral agents in particular outbreaks and is recommended by regulatory agencies for investigations of the viral safety of biological products and/or the cells used to produce them. In research, only TEM has a resolution sufficiently high for discrimination between aggregated viral proteins and structured viral particles. Recent examples of different viral assembly models illustrate the value of TEM for improving our understanding of virus-cell interactions.
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