FEI, a provider of 3D molecular, cellular and atomic-scale imaging systems, has installed its Titan Krios cryo transmission electron microscope (TEM) at Tsinghua University in Beijing, China.
The Titan Krios provides a high-resolution 3D imaging solution designed to image biological structures down to the molecular level in structural biology applications.
Its integrated cryogenic sample-handling robotics offer improved automation over existing cryogenic TEMs and the solution permits a full range of high-resolution and 3D techniques, including cryo electron microscopy, single-particle analysis and the dual-axis tomography of frozen hydrated samples, such as cells.
Cryogenic imaging techniques preserve sample integrity by maintaining it in its native hydrated condition and proteins in their naturally occurring conformation.
Low-electron dose methods enable data acquisition with minimal sample damage.
Yigong Shi, professor and senior vice dean of the medical school at Tsinghua University, said: 'The Titan Krios's unique capabilities in automation, cryogenic sample handling and low-dose imaging are essential for the advanced structural biological research we pursue here.
'We are confident that it will play a key role in our efforts to unravel the structure-function relationships of biological systems down to the molecular level.' Don Kania, FEI's president and chief executive officer, added: 'We will soon complete additional installations at the Institute of Biophysics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and at the National University of Singapore.' The recent Titan Krios installation was due to be formally commissioned in a ceremony on 25 August 2009, attended by dignitaries from Tsinghua University and FEI, as well as by leading researchers from the region.
The programme included a symposium with technical presentations by invited scientists and FEI personnel.
