What do I need to do before I bring my sample to the EM Core Facility?
When is the best time for me to bring in my samples?
Contact us if you can not find your answers here.
In general, we recommend users to bring in samples after fixation. It is particularly important for bio-hazardous samples. The Core Imaging Facility is not a certified BSL2 laboratory. All human pathogens and infectious materials need to be inactivated before entering the premises. Fixation is a most critical step in electron microscopy. Proper fixation ensures preservation of the ultrastructure of the sample. The Facility will provide you with the appropriate fixative and clear instructions for each step. The best time is early morning This gives us enough time to process a sample before overnight incubation. Avoid bringing in samples on Friday! Of course, special arrangements can be made for individual samples. Please arrange ahead of time with staff to ensure your samples will be processed in a timely manner. For SEM samples, it will take one and a half to two days to dehydrate the sample, sputter coat and mount before samples are ready for observation. TEM samples requiring embedding and sectioning may take a week. Negatively stained samples can normally be done on the same day unless the staff is engaged in other experiments. The time frame given above is based on the most optimal scenario. Please take into consideration that demands on services are unpredictable; therefore experiments maybe delayed when there are multiple samples that need to be processed at the same time. If you have an urgent need for processing of a specific sample, please inform us in advance. We always try our best to accommodate the needs of each user. Yes, we do provide services to observe samples and take images for users. We ask you to provide us with relevant literature references and to clearly describe the ultrastructure you would like us to observe. You will be charged for TEM usage and $60 per hour extra for technical assistance. Yes, our facility is tailored to provide these services for our research community. We would be happy to discuss with you the possibility of including non-routine steps required by your research. However, the user will be expected to provide special reagents as necessary. You may also face additional charges if these extra steps require extended commitment of our technical staff. Whenever possible, please provide us a reference that clearly explains the purpose of this procedure so our staff understands each step of the experiment. Such procedures should be discussed in advance with the Director. Our facility encourages users to explore challenging EM techniques to expand our experience with the most up-to-date techniques that are available. In general, we prefer users using our facility during regular work hours. However, special situations can be negotiated. Experienced and responsible users have been granted access to the facility after work hours in the past. Do not get intimidated by all the knobs on the control panels. The staff in our facility will demonstrate how to operate the Electron Microscopes for sample observation and image acquisition. A step-by-step manual will also be available to all users. We try our best to be available when users are using the Facility. The EM facility asks users not to manipulate function knobs other than those indicated in the manual. Adjusting other knobs without the consent of the EM Facility staff can change the electron beam alignment and jeopardize the performance of the electron microscope. Please refer to our fee schedule. A conservative estimate is about $250 per sample. This includes $100 for Epon embedding, $70 for thin sectioning, $50 to $100 for thirty minutes to an hour of TEM usage to observe samples, Remember, the price for embedding of second sample is much more reduced. The actual price really depends on each indivisual sample. Most of our procedure fee have not changed for the last three years. Although the scope hourly rate has increased but there will be not more extra charges for images anymore higher as we recommend users to spend adequate amount of time to observe their samples to ensure that they have screened every possible representation of the sought-after ultrastructure in their sample. All researchers on the UMB campus or in the UM system are defined as regular users.
Private users are users who do not belong to the University System of Maryland and do not receive public funding.
Contract users are regular users who sign a contract with the Core Imaging Facility at the beginning of an EM-related project in order to have reduced service charges and expanded usage of the facility. While electron microscopy techniques can provide you with powerful information about a specific topology or the ultrastrucutre of a specific target, many procedures require fine tuning before satisfactory results can be obtained. In addition, different samples may require modifications of standard procedures in order to achieve the best result. We encourage users to sign a contract with our facility. In this way, because we enter into a partnership, our facility will be committed to the success of your experiment and we will provide you with expertise to help you to achieve your goal. Contract users have extended hours of scope access, image acquisition and 30% discount on all other service charges. We also provide training of your own staff so you have more control of your experiments. We offer three types of contract, three, six, and twelve months, depending on the length of your project. Most users who have a specific project choose to sign a contract with our facility. At the moment, our facility does not have the capacity to offer regular EM courses. However, individual training has been offered to some contract users. Depending on the demand, a regular EM course will be considered for researchers in the future. Format and specific content of this course are under consideration. Dr. Hsia welcomes any suggestion and input concerning this matter. | 
