Carl
Zeiss today introduced a unique hardware/ software interface to connect
light and scanning electron microscopes for correlative microscopy in the life
sciences. The “Shuttle + Find” interface enables users to recall
regions of interest in fixed specimens in an electron microscope, which were
previously identified in a light microscope and vice versa.
The entire process takes only a few seconds. This opens up totally new dimensions
in microscopy: rapid and precise overlay of light and electron microscope images,
high-resolution magnification of the details, and the merger of functional and
structural information.
The Shuttle & Find interface for life sciences connects light and scanning electron microscopes and enables for the first time a productive workflow in correlative microscopy.
The key elements of Shuttle & Find for correlative light and electron microscopy
(CLEM) are:
- a transferable specimen holder that enables smooth specimen transfer between
the light and electron microscopes (shuttle) and
- a software module that controls all functions of light and electron microscopes
needed to identify and recall the defined region of interest (Find)
Dr. Ulrich Simon, president and CEO of Carl Zeiss MicroImaging GmbH said: “After
the successful launch of Shuttle & Find for materials analysis, we are taking
the next step and providing scientists in life science disciplines with a productive
solution for correlative microscopy. As the world’s only provider of both
light and electron microscopes in all performance classes, Carl Zeiss is uniquely
well suited to bridge the micro and nano worlds.”
In the life sciences, the relationship between structure and function is increasingly
becoming a focal point of interest. Correlative examinations that combine fluorescence
microscope images and scanning electron microscope images of one and the same
region open up new and fascinating possibilities. One of the scientific partners
in the development of the interface is Dr. Roger Wepf, director of the EMEZ
Electron Microscope Center at the ETH in Zurich. In his words, “Very helpful
indeed. Shuttle & Find eliminates the time- consuming search for identical
regions in the light and electron microscopes. Correlative microscopy now really
works even if there are still some issues regarding specimen preparation.”
Shuttle & Find connects all light microscopes from Carl Zeiss that can
be equipped with a motorized stage (SteREO Discovery, Axio Scope, Axio Imager,
Axio Examiner and also the Axio Observer inverted microscope) with all ZEISS
scanning electron microscopes of the types EVO, SIGMA, SUPRA, ULTRA, MERLIN
as well as with the CrossBeam (FIB-SEM) system AURIGA.