Industry News: FEI adds Phase Plate Technology and Titan Halo TEM to its Structural Biology Product Portfolio

FEI recently announced two new products for cryo-electron microscopy applications: a new phase plate solution and the Titan Halo™ transmission electron microscope (TEM). The phase plate is a stable, durable solution to increase the contrast of sensitive biological samples and is available on most TEM platforms from FEI. The Titan Halo TEM provides high-quality optical performance with enhanced flexibility for multi-scale applications in life and biomaterials sciences. With these new products, researchers can now see more detail in their biological specimens, and potentially gain greater insight into the fundamental processes of living systems at the molecular scale.

FEI’s phase plate addresses the historical shortcomings of traditional TEM phase plate technology by delivering a stable, reliable, long-life contrast enhancement solution for structural biology applications. Its long life (at least four months) and stability permit extended experiments. The phase plate is incorporated into the TEM system hardware and software for greater ease of use and is a key component in delivering high-quality imaging to the FEI cryo-electron microscopy workflow.
“To analyze the 3D structure of molecules and molecular complexes, structural biologists typically use applications like electron tomography, where contrast enhancement is of great importance,” said Peter Fruhstorfer, vice president and general manager of Life Sciences for FEI. “The new phase plate solution extends the limits of these applications to enable new biological insights. We expect it will help our customers deliver results at the forefront of discovery.”

The Titan Halo is designed for optical excellence and versatility, and can be used for either life science or materials science research in both cryo and room temperature conditions. The Titan Halo supports many FEI accessories and components, such as direct electron detectors and correctors and dedicated application software, all of which are embedded into the system and can be operated from the software interface. This smooth workflow approach makes the system easy to use, enabling more-efficient experiments to be completed in less time.

“The Titan Halo provides state-of-the-art optical performance with enhanced flexibility for multi-scale applications in life and biomaterials sciences. It is designed for a multi-user environment with various skill sets and application requirements,” said Fruhstorfer. “The Titan Halo is part of FEI’s high-end TEM solution portfolio, filling in between our high-performance, high-throughput Titan Krios™ cryo-TEM and our automated 200 kV field emission gun (FEG) platform, which is designed to provide high-throughput analysis at the lowest cost per structure. The Titan Halo offers our customers a new alternative that, while optimized for 300 kV applications like tomography, also provides the versatility and ease-of-use needed for a general-purpose research laboratory.”

Please visit http://www.fei.com/life-sciences/structural-biology/ for more information. Or stop by the FEI booth (#916) at the Microscopy & Microanalysis (M&M) 2014 Exhibition, August 3-7, at the Connecticut Convention Center, Hartford, CT, USA. FEI will also be at the International Microscopy Congress (booth 6), September 7-12, in Prague, Czech Republic.