Exploring life at the nanoscale
Understanding the operation of complex biological systems requires intimate knowledge of the relationships between form, function and location—from the cellular to the atomic scale.
Today, using powerful scanning and transmission electron microscopy solutions from FEI, it is possible to routinely see—and study—living systems down to the molecular level. To explore, in vivo, the molecular mechanisms of disease; to unambiguously determine the conformation of flexible protein structures, and to observe individual viruses and proteins in their natural biological context.
FEI's dedicated nanobiology organization brings the power of the nanoscale to the study of life sciences in academic research, pharmacology and biotech. Our pioneering work is already paying off with major research breakthroughs—from the rapid characterizations of proteins, cells and viruses, to the development of smarter drugs and delivery systems, to ambitious plans for developing in vivo devices for fighting life-threatening diseases.
Applications
Biology and life science applications typically performed with FEI systems and tools include the following:
Tools for Life Sciences
Explore FEI product families with models for biology and life sciences.
Sample Preparation Tool
FEI provides Vitrobot, a sample management and preparation solution for readying small cryo samples for structural studies. Vitrobot enables automated cryo fixation of TEM samples at constant and user-definable physical and mechanical conditions, such as temperature, relative humidity, blotting conditions and freezing velocity. This ensures reproducible, high-quality results and a high sample preparation throughput prior to cryo observation in a TEM.
Vitrobot is programmable for each individual application, then can be set for automatic retrieval, which gives occasional and regular users the best chances for high-quality cryo-fixation results without going through unnecessary training sessions and failures. In addition, Vitrobot has easy and flexible instrument control, a liquid coolant container with an anti-contamination ring, and a fully automated and reproducible vitrification process.
Learn more about New Vitrobot Mark IV