Beckman Center for Cryo-Electron Microscopy

Please contact us if you have a sample for screening or data collection on the Titan Krios and/or Glacios 2 (coming soon!) by sending an email at cryo-EM@lists.upenn.edu.

Include a sample submission Form along with your request. Internal users: submit your request only after your grids are clipped and dropped off at Singh Center. External users with access to the facility are required to do the same. For requesting data collection services, send this form along with your email. Hands-off (e.g. lipid nanoparticle imaging): LNP imaging submission form. Completed forms are required to secure a slot on Krios and Glacios.

Read our policies for Krios and Glacios here

Overview of Services

The Beckman Center for Cryo-Electron Microscopy provides access to state-of the art cryo electron microscopy (cryo-EM) and cryo electron tomography (cryo-ET) for structural investigation of macromolecules within and outside cells. The facility currently houses a 300 keV Titan Krios G3i microscope equipped with phase plate, K3 Summit Direct Detector camera and Bioquantum GIF energy filter. In the near future, it is set to incorporate a Glacios operating at 200 keV to its equipment. Additionally, the facility has Vitrobot cryo plunger and all accessories needed to perform sample preparation for cryo-EM. The facility is available to Penn research groups and external academic research groups in the greater Philadelphia area. You can reach out to us at cryo-em@lists.upenn.edu. In addition to data acquisition, the cryo-ET branch offers expertise and instrumentation for advanced sample preparation methods as well. We host a Zeiss LSM900 laser scanning confocal light microscope designed to facilitate correlative cryogenic workflows, specifically for targeted cryo-ET data acquisition. Additionally, a Zeiss Crossbeam 550 (equipped with a cryostage, a Delmic Meteor in-chamber fluorescence microscope, high signal-to-noise primary and secondary electron detectors and superior electron optics) is capable of conducting volumetric scanning electron microscopy (vSEM) reconstructions and thinning of biological specimens in a targeted fashion for subsequent cryo-ET. For cryo-ET related requests, please reach out to cryo-et@lists.upenn.edu.

The Beckman Center for Cryo-Electron Microscopy is exclusively for cryo-EM/cryo-ET workflows. For other EM-related services, please refer to our sister facility - Electron Microscopy Research Laboratory.

We offer the following services at the Beckman Center for Cryo-Electron Microscopy:

Advanced cryo-EM:

• Freezing, screening and optimization of samples for cryo-EM.
• Users may choose to have screening done by our staff or to receive hands-on training and perform their own screening assisted by staff.
• High resolution data acquisition of the prescreened samples on the Krios G3i microscope.
• Data transfer via the Penn network (internal users only), hard drives or file sharing services such as Globus (user needs to provide account).
• The facility is currently restricted to staff for operation and management of the microscope.

Note: The “advanced cryo-EM” branch does not provide cryo-EM data processing and reconstruction services. However, we may be able to assist - please inquire if you need help with data processing. 

Advanced cryo-ET:

• Training and data acquisition on the LSM900.
• Training and data acquistion on the Crossbeam 550.
• Assistance with sample preparation for cryo-ET
• Assistance with and training on the Krios for cryo-ET data acquisition
• Assistance with cryo-ET data processing and post processing/analyses on a case-by-case basis.

Research Resource Identifier (RRID)

Our RRID is RRID:SCR_022375. Please cite us using this identifier when publishing your results. 

Faculty Director

Vera Moiseenkova-Bell, Ph.D.

Professor of Pharmacology

Department of Systems Pharmacology and Translational Therapeutics

Core Directors/Managers

Advanced cryo-EM: 

Prerana Gogoi, Ph.D.

prerana.gogoi@pennmedicine.upenn.edu

Advanced cryo-ET:

Shrawan Kumar Mageswaran, Ph.D.

shrawan.mageswaran@pennmedicine.upenn.edu

Elaine Mihelc, Ph.D.

elaine.mihelc@pennmedicine.upenn.edu

Hours 

24/7

Location

Krios and Glacios:

3205 Walnut St.

G011 Singh Center

Philadelphia, PA 19104 

LSM900 and Crossbeam 550:

B33A Anatomy Chemistry Building

3620 Hamilton Walk

Philadelphia, PA 19104

Links and Resources
For negative staining, ultrastructural traditional TEM, approach Electron Microscopy Resource Lab Website

Contacts

Map

https://maps.app.goo.gl/9Yf2nGQLV3RKmF6e6 https://maps.app.goo.gl/Y1bmp6VDm8uvRtxo7