Stanford-SLAC Cryo-EM Center Facilities & Resources
S2C2 Cryo-EM Facilities
S2C2 is equipped with cutting-edge instrumentation. Our facility boasts four state-of-the-art 300 keV electron microscopes (Titan Krios) manufactured by Thermo Fisher Scientific (named as Alpha, Beta, Gamma and Delta), each with various gun sources, electron energy filters, and detectors, ensuring versatility for your research needs. Additionally, we have a 200 keV electron microscope (Glacios 2) and a 100 keV electron microscope (Tundra). All dedicated to high-resolution data collection, training, and specimen screening. Furthermore, our facility is accessible to other Titan Krios electron microscopes (TEM2) if needed. To support your experiments, we provide a range of sample vitrification devices, including Vitrobot, Leica EM GP2 plunger, Chameleon, Vitrojet, and Gatan CP3 plunger. To minimize ice contamination, some of these devices are located in a low humidity room.
For the final step in preparing fresh samples before vitrification, users have access to biochemical preparation equipment. It's important to note that our CryoEM facilities are authorized to handle BSL2 samples with proper approval from the Stanford Biosafety office.
| Microscope | Alpha | Beta | Gamma | Delta | Glacios 2 | Tundra | TEM2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Model | Titan Krios | Titan Krios | Titan Krios | Titan Krios | Glacios | Tundra | Titan Krios |
| Energy Filter | Selectris X | BioQuantum | BioQuantum | Selectris X | Selectris | N/A | BioQuantum |
| Detector(s) | Falcon 4i | K3 | K3 | Falcon 4i | Falcon 4i | Falcon C | K3 |
| Fringe Free | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes |
| Operating System | Win10 | Win10 | Win10 | Win10 | Win10 | Win10 | Win10 |
| Imaging Software | EPU 3.5 | EPU 3.5 | EPU 3.5 | EPU 3.5 | EPU 3.5 | Smart-EPU | EPU 3.5 |
| Cold FEG | Yes | No | No | Yes | No | No | No |
| Apoferritin Performance Benchmark | 1.27 Å | 1.34 Å | 1.46 Å | Installation in Progress | Installation in 01/24 | Installation |
|
Data Management and Computational Resources
All experimental data collected under S2C2 will be held on disk for two months from the day of collection. The data is transferred as soon as it is collected and is therefore immediately available for download via either the usual unix tools (rsync, scp, bbcp, etc) or through globus. More details regarding data transfer can be found at https://confluence.slac.stanford.edu/x/mYoYDg.
After two months, the data is then moved onto tape and will be kept for 22 additional months. Requests for data retrieval after the data is moved onto tape can be made via email to unix-admin@slac.stanford.edu with specific information regarding the date of the data collection, the proposal number and the microscope that was used.
Two years after the data is collected, the data will be purged completely from our systems.
As part of our data services, all collected movie images will be automatically aligned (motion corrected) and CTF calculations performed and reported.
