Instrumentation & Equipment

Located in 10d in the Clapp Lab Basement, the Quanta 200 SEM is a research-grade microscope that is easy to use and available for research projects, general instrument training, and course use or demonstrations. Using a beam of electrons, the SEM can capture beautiful 3-D-like images of biological and geological specimens and man-made materials. The instrument is also equipped with an x-ray detector for Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (EDS), a technique that provides information about the elemental composition of a specimen or sample.  

There is a long history of TEM here at Mount Holyoke College, an almost 60-year long history in fact! The Clapp Lab basement has been home to a TEM since 1965, although our current instrument is not quite that old. The Philips CM100 is a workhorse microscope, very easy to use and capable of imaging thin sections (>100 nm) or nanoscale objects with a variable electron beam (40-100 kV). The instrument is located in Clapp 10b.  

The inverted Nikon Eclipse Ti2 LSCM is the most recent addition to the Microscopy Facility research-grade instrumentation. The LSCM offers a high resolution alternative to traditional widefield fluorescence microscopy and can produce "optical sections" for 3-D reconstruction of fluorescent specimens or samples. The instrument is also equipped with a spinning disc accessory to image fast dynamic process that require high speed image acquisition. The microscope is located on the second floor of Clapp lab in Room 216. 

Have you ever used a record player? The cantilever and needle of a record player "feel" the grooves in the record and translate the record surface features into sound. In a similar fashion, the AFM cantilever and probe (a microscopic needle) "feel" the surface of a specimen or sample and translate the instrument response to the surface features into a height map or image of the material under investigation. The AFM is a tactile microscope used to understand the micro- and nanoscopic features of surfaces and can also measure mechanical, magnetic, or electrical properties using specialized probes. The AFM is located in the basement of Carr. 

The Microscopy Core Facility houses multiple research-grade instruments for visible light and fluorescence microscopy, including a fluorescence-capable stereoscope (10x-100x) and inverted Nikon TE2000-U, an Olympus BH-2 with DIC imaging capability, polarized light microscopes, and several microscopes with reflected light or dark field imaging attachments. Schedule a tour or consultation with Heather to learn more about the shared instrumentation in the Microscopy Facility.    

There are two labs available for specimen and sample preparation and several additional specialized pieces of equipment. The histology prep lab is located in Clapp 212 and is equipped with a microtome and glassware for fixation, dehydration, and staining of biological samples. The Microscopy Facility wet lab, located in Clapp 10a, is fully equipped with a fume hood, several ovens, and the BioWave Pro tissue processing system for histological prep, paraffin and resin infiltration, and staining. Additionally, the Microscopy Facility houses an ultra-microtome for TEM sectioning and a sputter coater and critical point drier for SEM sample preparation. If you are interested in learning how to prepare specimens or samples for microscopy using any of this equipment, please email Heather to discuss training.