Talos F200C

UCLA Chemistry and Biochemistry and IGP

TALOS F200C at the UCLA Molecular Instrumentation Center

TALOS STAFF: DUILIO CASCIO

TEACHING ASSISTANTS: Maria Flores and Niko Vlahakis

For technical and scheduling questions  contact  Duilio Cascio at the IGP:  cascio@mbi.ucla.edu

For information about  accounts and rates contact Ignacio Martini at the MIC: martini@chem.ucla.edu

Young Hall 1294, 611 Young Drive East, Los Angeles, CA 90095

TALOS F200C TRANSMISSION ELECTRON MICROSCOPE

The Thermo Scientific Talos F200C TEM is a 200 kV thermionic (scanning) transmission electron microscope uniquely designed for performance and productivity across a wide range of samples and applications, such as 2D and 3D imaging of cells, organelles, asbestos, polymers, and soft materials, both at ambient and cryogenic temperatures.

DESCRIPTION AND FEATURES

  • The TALOS F200C is  a Transmission Electron Microscope that provides imaging quality for beam-sensitive materials with low-dose technique.
  • It has a large C-Twin pole piece gap, which provides high application flexibility, combined with a reproducibly performing electron column. This TEM microscope opens new opportunities for high-resolution 3D characterization, in situ dynamic observations, micro electron diffraction applications,  high-contrast imaging and cryo-EM. 
  • The Talos F200C TEM is equipped with the fast 4k × 4k Thermo Scientific Ceta 16M Camera, which provides a large field-of-view and fast imaging

Auto-alignments

All daily TEM tunings, such as focus, eucentric height, center beam shift, center condenser aperture, and rotation center are automated.

Ceta CMOS Camera

The Thermo Scientific Ceta-D Camera is a scintillator-based camera optimized for low-dose diffraction data collection. It is ideal for working with dose-sensitive materials, such as proteins, pharmaceutical molecules, and organic materials.

The camera’s high sensitivity allows for reliable detection of high-resolution, low-intensity diffraction peaks, and its high signal-to-noise ratio enables accurate measurement of the integrated peak intensity.

APPLICATIONS

  • Negative Stain of Biological Samples
  • Single Particle CryoEM
  • Cryo Electron Diffraction of nano-crystals
  • Fundamental Materials Research

Facilities and Equipment

The TALOS F200C  facility occupies 2200 square feet in total and is located in Young Hall 1294. The room is dedicated to TEM sample preparation, Cryo-preservation and data collection on the  Talos microscope.

The room incorporates  the following equipment:

  • The Plasma Cleaner for cleaning TEM grids:  PELCO easiGLOW  Glow Discharge Cleaning System
  • The FEI Vitrobot Mark III ( Vitrification Robot). This is a fully PC-controlled cryo-plunger for vitrification (rapid cooling) of aqueous samples used later in cryo-electron microscopy.
  • GATAN 626  Single tilt liquid nitrogen cryo-transfer holder
  • GATAN 655 Turbo Pumping Station
  • The facility is kept at 20 °C by an  independent air conditioning system.
  • The compressors and the Haskris LX  water recirculating coolers used to remove heat from microscope are kept in an adjacent room, to isolate the noise from the rest of the facility.

Mode of Operation

After the onboarding process the user will have full access to the TEM TALOS facility and the equipment. The user will  carry out all aspects of the TEM experiment from grid preparation, holder insertion and extraction, data collection and analysis.

How to access the Talos F200C  Microscope

The Talos F200C is a mid to high-level entry  Transmission Electron Microscope with a complex and delicate system of software and hardware that requires users to be trained and fully qualified to independently  operate the instrument. 

 Investigators in the Chemistry Department must contact Duilio Cascio   to schedule  the  onboarding process.

PREREQUISITES:

The users must have  a minimum of 20 hours of individual training at the UCLA CNSI EICN facility on the T12 or T20 microscopes or equivalent experience. 

During the two hour onboarding meeting students/staff must show a high proficiency of sample preparation and handling of the  TEM single tilt  holder.

To use the GATAN 626 cryo-transfer holder, the user must have mastered 8 hours of individual use of the dry-holder.

Maria Flores training how to use the GATAN-626 Cryoholder

TALOS TEM ONBOARDING PROCESS:

We require all users to go through our onboarding process

Step 1: Please use this Google form to request Talos onboarding.

Step 2: Please read, sign and have your PI sign the user agreement here. Return the signed agreement via email before the onboarding session.

Step 3: You will be contacted by Talos staff (Duilio Cascio) who will discuss your TEM experience and current research needs.

Step 4: Reserve time via a Google calendar. Details given at the time of onboarding.

Rates:

Sales and Service agreements are being developed. Please consult Ignacio Martini (martini@chem.ucla.edu) about external rates. Daily rates may be possible for external users.

ONBOARDING OF POST-DOCS AND GRADUATE STUDENTS BY MARIA FLORES

Symmetric imaging scaffolds bound to target protein in cryogenic conditions

TALOS F200C micrograph showing imaging scaffolds

Research done by  post-doctoral fellow Dr. Roger Castells in the lab of Dr. Todd Yeates.

Research done by  post-doctoral fellow Dr. Roger Castells in the lab of Dr. Todd Yeates.

Tubular Cyanine Dye Molecular Aggregates in cryogenic conditions

TALOS F200C micrograph at 57K Maginification

Research done by  Graduate Student Jillian Williams in the lab of Dr. Justin Caram.

Research done by  Graduate Student Jillian Williams in the lab of Dr. Justin Caram.

Micrograph of plunge frozen neurons

TALOS F200C micrograph showing Vesicular compartments and junctions present at  the thinner extensions of cells.

Research done by  Graduate Student Maria Flores in the lab of Dr. Jose Rodriguez.

Research done by  Graduate Student Maria Flores in the lab of Dr. Jose Rodriguez.

Micrograph of Wild Type hnRNPA2 LCD fibrils

TALOS F200C micrograph showing fibrils of WT  hnRNPA2 LCD

Research done by  Graduate Student Jiahui Lu  in the lab of  Dr. David Eisenberg.

Research done by  Graduate Student Jiahui Lu  in the lab of  Dr. David Eisenberg.

Using the TALOS F200C electron microscope to understand virus self assembly.

CCMV Virus-Like Particles in negative stain conditions at 92K magnification

Research done by Graduate Student Nina Harpell in the labs of Drs. Jose Rodriguez and William Gelbart.

Research done by Graduate Student Nina Harpell in the labs of Drs. Jose Rodriguez and William Gelbart.

Using Electron Diffraction of nanocrystals on the TALOS F200C microscope to solve atomic structures

Electron Diffraction of nano crystals

Research done by Graduate Student Niko Vlahakis in the lab of Dr. Jose Rodriguez,

Research done by Graduate Student Niko Vlahakis in the lab of Dr. Jose Rodriguez,