The Dubochet Center for Imaging (DCI) is a joint initiative of the EPFL, the University of Lausanne, the University of Geneva and the University of Bern.

The DCI is currently composed of three units:

• DCI-Geneve (formerly the CryoGEnic facility), located in the Science II/III building of the University of Geneva,
• DCI-Lausanne (https://www.dci-lausanne.org) is located at the border between the EPFL and the University of Lausanne, and
• DCI-Bern (https://dci-bern.ch) is located in the Institute of Anatomy at the University of Bern.

These three units form the DCI, a service platform for cryo-electron microscopy. The DCI operates several high-end TEM and cryo-EM instruments to study biological molecules, viruses, bacteria, micro-crystals, small organelles, or sections of biological cells or tissues. The DCI has the expertise and is equipped to perform the entire structural analysis pipeline, covering the preparation of the samples, image and tomography data collection with electron microscopes, micro-electron diffraction (micro-ED), computer image processing, and atomic model building.

The Bioimaging Center - CryoGEnic is providing help at different levels:

• Advice for experimental approach and design
• Guidance for sample preparation (negative staining, plunge-feezing)
• Supervision and guidance for the use of the electron and cryo-electron microscopes
• Training: New users are trained on the instruments until they become independent
• Data analysis and quantification using dedicated software and GPU workstations
• We also establish methods for ultrastructural analysis of cells and tissues
• In addition we offer different pre- and post-embedding immunolabeling protocols as well as negative staining
• The center is equipped with bench space that is available to users of our service.

Available upon request

• Fees and prices
• Design and optimization of protocols for complex experiments and applications
• Alternative forms of services

Dr. Celine Besnard, Dr. Andrew Howe, Dr. Christoph Bauer