Biological Electron Microscopy Facility (BEMF)

The Biological Electron Microscope Facility, initiated in 1983 by Richard D. Allen, serves researchers across the UH Mānoa campus and across the island of O‘ahu.  Centrally located in Snyder Hall, the facility houses the only transmission electron microscope in the state, and is one of a diminishing number of scanning and transmission electron microscope facilities nationwide.  Researchers from other universities come to UH Mānoa to use the available instruments.

The BEMF offers an array of integrated microscopy services directed primarily at biological/biomedical researchers but serving an increasing number of materials scientists and nanoscientists. BEMF instrumentation includes the following:

• Hitachi HT7700 all-digital 120 kV Transmission Electron Microscope with AMT 2k x 2k CCD camera and tomography option for conventional transmission electron microscopy

• Hitachi S-4800-I Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscope with Oxford Inca 250 X-ray Microanalysis system for high resolution scanning electron microscopy

• Olympus FV-1000 Laser Scanning Confocal System with six laser lines on an Olympus IX-81 inverted microscope

• Zeiss PALM Laser Microdissection/Optical Trapping CombiSystem

• Olympus BX-51 upright microscope with epifluorescence and digital camera and Olympus SZX-12 stereomicroscope with digital camera

• Preparatory equipment: RMC and Reichert ultramicrotomes, LKB knifebreaker, critical point dryer, sputter coater, vacuum evaporator, carbon coater, and other ancillary laboratory equipment.

Clients may be trained to use the instruments themselves, have the technician operate the instruments for them, or have the technician do the entire project and provide images. Researchers are asked to meet with the technician prior to starting a project so that the best techniques for any given project can be determined and to insure that appropriate controls are included.  For more information, or to inquire about use of the facilities, visit the BEMF website.