Specimen Preparation

At NanoImaging Services we have over 30 years of experience in Molecular Microscopy sample preparation to draw from to find the most suitable conditions for preservation of your sample. Samples are prepared by negative stain or vitrification.

In negative stain preparation, we use one of 7 different heavy metal reagents that is most suitable for visualizing the structural features of your particular sample (lipid, protein, nucleic acid) in its buffer conditions (salt, pH, surfactant). This heavy metal reagent interacts specifically with your sample to enable visualization at room temperature.

In cryogenic preparation, we preserve your sample in its native hydrated state. We use a state of the art Vitrobot to control the humidity, temperature, and sample absorption conditions during vitrification to ensure reproducibility and quality.

NanoImaging Services makes every effort possible to obtain suitable images of your sample, even if it requires multiple rounds of sample preparation and imaging.