5nm to 100μm

Prof. Jones: ‘That’s right! Electron microscopes can resolve details within that very small range.’ 

[He points to the labelled figure displaying multiple size ranges.]

From: Urry, L. A., Cain, M. L., Wasserman, S. A., Minorsky, P. V., Orr, R. B., & Reece, J. B. (2020). Campbell Biology (12th ed.). Pearson.

Michael: ‘I can see now why this is relevant to our goal of examining how T cells might be altering or interacting with tumor cells. At these scales, we will be able to see organelles and vesicles.’

You: ‘And if we are lucky potentially even evidence of membrane fusion!’

Prof. Jones nods and smiles while picking up a box of gloves and a labeled slide box.

Prof. Jones: ‘Before moving on to look at our sample, let’s pick which item you could realistically see under the electron microscope as part of today’s study. ‘

Pick a specimen you can observe using an electron microscope.