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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2022 Feb 4.
Published in final edited form as: Cell. 2021 Jan 4;184(3):759–774.e18. doi: 10.1016/j.cell.2020.12.013

Figure 1. A high-throughput serial-section transmission electron microscopy (TEM) pipeline built around GridTape.

Figure 1.

(A) Regularly spaced holes and barcodes are laser-milled into a length of tape to produce GridTape, a substrate for collection of serial sections.

(B) Schematic of stacked GridTape layers in cross-section. Tape thickness is exaggerated for clarity.

(C-E) Schematics of sectioning (top) and imaging (bottom) for different serial-section EM approaches. Bottom schematics do not share the same scale.

(C) Manual serial-section collection and TEM imaging. Samples are serially sectioned and manually picked up onto coated slot grids (3 mm outer diameter).

(D) Automated tape-collecting ultra-microtome (ATUM) serial-section collection and SEM imaging. Sections are collected automatically onto tape (8 mm wide). Tape is then cut into strips and adhered to a wafer (bottom) for imaging. Bottom inset: zoomed-in view of a section on tape.

(E) GridTape serial-section collection and TEM imaging. Samples are sectioned using a GridTape-compatible ATUM. Sections adhere to GridTape (8 mm wide) immediately after being cut and are targeted to land over film-coated holes in the tape. GridTape-collected sections are imaged using a reel-to-reel system. Bottom inset: zoomed-in view of a section on GridTape.

(F) Schematic of the GridTape reel-to-reel stage. Reels of GridTape are inserted into the custom stage, which positions sections under the electron beam. Portions of the TEM microscope column in beige. Electron beam in light blue (not to scale).

Scale bars, 10 mm (A), 10 cm (F). Scale box, 1 mm (C-E, top).