Please submit your enquiry (EM Project Application form) and we will arrange a meeting to discuss your project objectives and advise on available tools, expertise and support we can provide in ultrastructural analysis.

This depends on the current load of other projects we support and availability of necessary tools and instrumentation. Schedule for sample harvesting, delivery, processing and analysis shall be arranged with our staff well in advance. We reserve the right to refuse urgent orders when our capacity is full or if we cannot meet your deadline.

Specific method of sample harvesting and handling prior (and during) delivery to our facility is critical for preservation of fine ultrastructure and results of the analysis (especially for biological samples) and shall be consulted with our staff in advance. We reserve the right to refuse samples delivered in a quality/quantity which is insufficient for ultrastructural analysis and/or for delivery of conclusive results. Each batch of samples shall be submitted together with Sample delivery form

Both options are possible. Our staff can provide either full-workflow support for user’s project (from experiment design to sample processing, imaging and data analysis), or a training to users who become accredited users of the facility and perform the workflow themselves. Different rates (user fees) apply for full support by our staff, training and self-use. Please refer to the actual Price list, or request an estimate for your project.

The total costs can vary significantly and depend on complexity and scale of an individual project (see Q6 below). Cost estimate may be provided on request upon detailed assessment of project proposal. Note please: Time necessary for acquisition of sufficient imaging data for analysis also depends on qualitative characteristics of individual samples. We therefore reserve the right to amend the original estimate when necessary.

Anything between a day and several months, depending on the aim, complexity and scale of your project, total amount and type of samples, method of sample processing and imaging and volume of imaging data necessary for qualitative or quantitative analysis. Length of training depends on complexity of an instrument (or method) and on previous experience and learning skills of a trainee.

Yes, certainly for the acknowledgment and in some cases also for the co-authorship. Although service fees are charged for expert services we provide (so as for training and self-use), all fees are heavily subsidized and represent solely a partial contribution to cost recovery of facility operations. Nevertheless, payment of user/service fees does not preclude eligibility of facility staff for co-authorship on a paper to which they contributed intellectually or by provision of expertise. For details please refer to the IMCF publication policy.

After training by our staff and passing an assessment test, accredited independent users get access to the equipment. Hourly user fees apply as a contribution to facility maintenance and cost of consumables. Users must comply with our Safety policy and equipment must be booked for through an online reservation system CALPENDO. Our staff reserves priority access to the equipment for urgent matters. We also provide training in specific methods of sample processing or data analysis.

Our priority is to provide conclusive results of premium quality in a reasonable time frame. However, whether the EM analysis delivers results predicted by your hypothesis, depends primarily on the design of your experiment and the qualitative properties of submitted samples (including appropriate controls and replicates, where applicable).

Data from our TEM/SEM microscopes are temporarily saved on atom.biocev.org\SCRATCH and users are informed to upload them from there to their server as soon as possible. The content of the SCRATCH folder is being cleared up on weekly basis. Facility staff is not responsible for data acquired and saved by users themselves.