It is easy to forget that there is a lot more to Leica than just cameras. One of the absolute leaders in microscope technology is Leica Microsystems. Just like Leica Camera AG, Leica Microsystems has its headquarters also in Wetzlar.
The
University of Marburg is expanding its cooperation with Leica Microsystems: The
Institute of Cytobiology is currently one of four institutes in the world to
test a microscope with a resolution well below the diffraction limit
(nanoscope). “With this new optical nanoscopy called GSDIM (ground state
depletion microscopy followed by individual molecule return), resolutions down
to 25 nanometers can be achieved. This makes it possible to image sub-cellular
structures or protein complexes far beyond the resolving powers of a light
microscope,” says cell biologist Prof. Dr. Ralf Jacob. The new technology is being tested in the Imaging Core Facility of the special Cell Biology
Research Department 593 (SFB 593) in Marburg.
Leica SR GSD 3D Microscope
Comparison of conventional widefield fluorescence
microsope image with GSDIM image
True-to-detail imaging of the spatial
arrangement of proteins and other biomolecules in cells and observing molecular
processes – GSDIM makes this possible for researchers due to resolutions beyond
the diffraction limit. The more insight science gains into these basic
processes of life, the better it can find the causes of previously incurable
diseases and develop suitable therapies.
One of the strengths of GSDIM is that it
uses conventional fluorescence markers to image proteins or other biomolecules
within the cells with sharpness down to a few nanometers. This includes
fluorophores which are routinely used in biomedicine.
With GSDIM, the fluorescent molecules in
the specimen are almost completely switched off using laser light. However,
individual molecules spontaneously return to the fluorescent state, while their
neighbors remain non-illuminating. In this way, the signals of individual
molecules can be acquired sequentially using a highly sensitive camera system
and their spatial position in the specimen can be measured and stored. An
extremely high-resolution image can then be created from the position of many
thousands of molecules. This enables cell components that are situated very
close to one another and cannot be resolved using conventional widefield
fluorescence microscopy to be spatially separated and sharply reproduced in an
image.
With GSDIM technology, Leica
Microsystems is extending its lead as an innovative provider of
super-resolution light microscopes and nanoscopes. “With this new widefield
microscope system we are extending our super-resolution portfolio and allow
even more scientists to benefit from our innovative technology and advance
their research,” comments Anja Schué from Leica Microsystems. The current test
phase of the microscope is important in this context, as optimal testing can
only be done by active scientists like the members of the SFB 593, which is
sponsored by the German Research Society. “Our research naturally derives great
benefit from being able to work with a microscope like this one,” adds
Professor Jacob.
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