The Leica ARTOS 3D is a highly automated ultramicrotome that produces semi-thin and thin sections for high-resolution light microscopy and immunocytochemistry. This instrument features a video monitor and a Leica IC90E camera system that allow user-friendly inspection and setup of the sample and documentation of the sectioning process. The ARTOS ultramicrotome also eliminates many of the manual manipulations needed to produce the consistent ribbons of serial sections required for array tomographic reconstruction of 3D volumes in immunofluorescence and electron microscopy studies. The instrument comes with the EM RAPID high speed milling system for the trimming of resin-embedded specimens for subsequent sectioning.
Funding for the Leica ARTOS 3D ultramicrotome and RAPID EM milling system was provided by a NIH Basic Instrumentation Grant (BIG) obtained by Martin Katz, professor emeritus of ophthalmology. To acknowledge the impact of this instrumentation on your research, please cite U.S. National Institutes of Health grant S10OD032246 in your publications.
Clients wishing to use diamond histo knives should bring their own. The LKB 7800A KnifeMaker is available for making glass knives. Glass strips are available for purchase from the ALMC supply center.