Studying cartilage in SEM

[Mary Tang]

I just spoke with this fellow -- he says that he will be doing the CPD 
at Beckman (good) and SEM here.  He needs a field emission system for 
his work and they do not have one there (??)  Sounds like a valid reason 
to me.  He plans to be using the SEM for only a few weeks and has 
scheduled to be in the next SNF Training class.  I would think that if 
the sample has undergone critical point drying and sputter coating, that 
there's little likelihood of contaminating the SEM, so this should be 
SpecMat-approved.  Sound OK to everyone?

Mary

Paul Rissman wrote:

> thanks, I was going to say it was ok. . .
>
> At 10:23 AM 8/12/2005, you wrote:
>
>> Hi Paul --
>>
>> I'm so glad you wrote!  -- I meant to get back to you much sooner, 
>> but had lost your contact info.
>>
>> Not that I really want to turn customers away, but I was wondering if 
>> you had considered using the Beckman Cell Sciences Imaging Facility
>> instead (http://taltos.stanford.edu/).  Although we do have a 
>> critical point dryer and SEM that would suffice for your needs, we 
>> really are designed to be a fabrication lab, not an analytical lab.  
>> We completely lack the expertise to help you with your samples -- we 
>> could train you on the tools, but then sample prep (which is, as you 
>> probably know, 98% of the success in SEMming a biological sample) 
>> would be completely up to you.  And, you would be sharing with people 
>> making devices, so the systems are really not set up for biological 
>> analysis.  Beckman has a critical point dryer and SEM -- and most 
>> importantly, experts who know how to prep and image your samples.
>>
>> If there is a reason that you would rather not use the Beckman 
>> center, I would really like to know, as we generally refer people 
>> with biological samples there.
>> Mary
>>
>> Paul Briant wrote:
>>
>>> Dear SpecMat committee,
>>> I am interested in using the SEM (S-800) to study pig cartilage 
>>> samples.  I
>>> am fixing the samples in my own lab, and then critical point drying and
>>> sputter coating them at the medical school.  I would then like to 
>>> use the
>>> S-800 at your facility to study the samples.  I spoke with James Conway
>>> about the project and he said that using the SEM would be fine, but 
>>> I was
>>> told I should also email your committee.
>>>
>>> Thank you very much for your time,
>>> Paul Briant
>>>
>>>
>>
>>
>> -- 
>> Mary X. Tang, Ph.D.
>> Stanford Nanofabrication Facility
>> CIS Room 136, Mail Code 4070
>> Stanford, CA  94305
>> (650)723-9980
>> mtang at stanford.edu
>> http://snf.stanford.edu
>>


-- 
Mary X. Tang, Ph.D.
Stanford Nanofabrication Facility
CIS Room 136, Mail Code 4070
Stanford, CA  94305
(650)723-9980
mtang at stanford.edu
http://snf.stanford.edu