The partners aim to develop laser plate technology for cryo-electron microscopy
Biotechnology company Thermo Fisher Scientific has collaborated with the Chan Zuckerberg Institute for Advanced Biological Imaging (CZ Imaging) to develop human cell visualisation technologies.
“We are excited to collaborate with the CZ Imaging Institute to create new approaches in analytical science that aid future discovery,” said Thermo Fisher vice president and general manager of life sciences for electron microscopy Trisha Rice.
The partnership aims to develop laser phase plate technology for cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM), a technique using a transmission electron microscope (TEM) to image biological samples frozen at cryogenic temperatures.
Cryo-EM enables researchers to visualise molecules with enhanced contrast and higher resolution, to observe cellular structures in their native environments. It is used in disease research and vaccine development.
The ability to see cells in greater detail enables researchers to analyse the cells’ inner workings in 3D and at nanoscale resolution.
The teams are building on existing collaborations with Berkeley Lab and the University of California, Berkeley, where the continuous laser phase plate for electron microscopy was invented and continues to be developed.
“At CZ Imaging, we’re focused on innovating breakthrough imaging technologies to enable scientists to see and measure what is currently invisible within our cells and gain deeper insights into the biological mechanisms of human health and disease,” said CZ Imaging acting executive director and chief operating officer Matthias Haury.
“We want to advance not only the experimental side of imaging science, but also deliver solutions to the community, and technology alliances with industry partners like Thermo Fisher allow the Imaging Institute to accelerate and scale technology development and share these advances with the scientists across the world more rapidly.”
In February, Thermo Fisher released the Invitrogen EVOS S1000 Spatial Imaging System, a widefield spectral imaging system offering simultaneous, detailed snapshots of tissue microenvironments.
