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This course is intended to provide a non-mathematical description of the basic principles of transmission and analytical electron microscopy for materials science. Images provide microstructural detail from micron length-scales to atomic resolution. Convergent beam diffraction allows point and space group analysis from microcrystalline regions. EDX and EELS spectrometry provides elemental, chemical and bonding information at nanometer resolution. Factors influencing the ultimate spatial resolution and detection sensitivities will be covered. The course will be directed towards materials scientists, advanced technologists and technical managers who are required to use or interpret data taken from the TEM.

This course will review how to tag primary antibodies, peptides or nucleic acids with colloidal gold and Nanogold. The chemistry, equipment and protocols will be covered in this practical course. Tips on silver enhancement of small gold particles will be given. Learn how to optimally use gold probes for immunocytochemistry, dual labeling, and in situ hybridization for both electron and light microscopy applications. The use of a new combined fluorescent-and-gold probe, gold-lipid membrane label, and other new gold probes will also be covered.

This course will discuss the various strategies needed for producing digital data that is suitable for publication. We will discuss how to acquire the best digital image for a given sample. Noise removal and resolution issues will be discussed in detail. We will examine what the current best technologies for archiving the image data are and what image formats and standards we should adopt. We will examine in detail imaging printing. We will emphasize several issues that must be understood in order to produce high quality images every time on any printer (the most critical being the gamma correction). There will be a strong emphasis placed on the most affordable solutions available regardless of platform or operating system. We will examine the latest technologies such as digital cameras and digital video to see how they may best be applied to microscopy. We will discuss the major issues that must be addressed when moving to a more digital approach.

We define the digital darkroom as a location where data in any format can be converted to any other format in publication quality without using traditional wet photographic processing. The purpose of this short course is to describe the components of the digital darkroom. Specific topics to be addressed will include: 1) digital cameras; 2) flatbed, slide and other scanners; 3) image processing software to adjust image brightness, contrast and color, and to compose publication quality figures; 4) digital printers to make prints, slides and transparencies; and 5) storage formats for long-term archiving of image data. The course will include hands-on equipment demonstrations and participation by relevant vendors.

This workshop will offer both lectures and "hands-on" demonstrations to introduce the participants to the many applications of cryofixation. Ultra-rapid freezing (metal mirror) will be used for both in-situ and conventional biopsied samples. Freeze substitution will be discussed in detail with respect to applications and utilization in validation of certain Ôtissue-dryingÕ protocols. If you have a tissue of interest for use during the workshop, please contact one of the organizers in advance.