Multidisciplinary Super Resolution Microscopy Facility at Nottingham University

诺丁汉大学多学科超分辨率显微镜设施

基本信息

批准号：
BB/L013827/1
负责人：
Miguel Camara
金额：
$ 93.69万
依托单位：
University of Nottingham
依托单位国家：
英国
项目类别：
Research Grant
财政年份：
2013
资助国家：
英国
起止时间：
2013 至无数据
项目状态：
已结题

来源：
https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=BB%2FL013827%2F1
关键词：
Multidisciplinary Super Resolution Microscopy Facility

项目摘要

For many years there has been a gap in the resolution of Confocal Laser Scanning Microsopy and even with perfect lenses, optimal alignment, and large numerical apertures the optical resolution of this form of light microscopy has been limited to approximately half of the wavelength of the light used meaning that only cellular structures and objects at least 200 to 350 nm apart could be resolved as distinct separate structures. However, much of the fundamental biology of the cell, occurs at the level of micro-molecular complexes in the size range of tens to few hundred nm, i.e., beyond the reach of conventional light microscopy. Super resolution microscopes (SRM) have been developed to break or bypass the classical diffraction limits and shift the optical resolution down to macro-molecular or even molecular levels. It can locate single molecules down to 20nm precision. SRM can also provide particle tracking to follow single molecules, e.g. proteins, DNA, drugs, in a sample without compromising resolution. Although the University of Nottingham (UoN) houses a range of microscopy facilities there is a clear gap in resolution that requires the cutting edge technology SRM provides to take the research into areas that are not currently achievable in Nottingham Life Sciences at present. Some of these areas include: (i) Microbiology: to understand better how bacterial cells interact with each other and how they can transfer molecules and signals within and between cells in bacterial communities known as biofilms; (ii) Bioenergy: to understand how some bacterial cellular energy reservoirs are transformed into biofuels and hence be able to optimize of these processes; (iii) Synthetic Biology: to understand how artificial cells and specialized DNA structures are developed as this can have a significant impact within different industrial contexts; (iv) Stem cell biology and tissue engineering: the SRM will have a significant impact on understanding the development of specialized cells from stem cells and the development of tissue scaffolds which will be paramount in regenerative medicine required for the repair of different damaged human tissues; (v) Plant sciences: to understand some of the signaling processes in root development and the mechanisms of pollen development which impact on crop production and sustainable agriculture; (vi) Food security: to unravel essential mechanisms of interaction between pathogens and host cells of farm animals which are responsible for significant loses in the farm industry with the ultimate aim of targeting some of these to reduce the negative economic impact they have and (vii) Molecular pharmacology: to facilitate the understanding of drug-target interactions enabling their optimization with the consequent improvements to health.Hence the acquisition of a SRM facility will enable UoN to address key biological questions in the above areas which will have a significant impact on science, the economy and society.

多年来，分辨出共聚焦激光扫描微观的差异，即使具有完美的镜头，最佳的对齐和较大的数值孔径，这种形式的光显微镜的光学分辨率仅限于光的波长的一半，即至少只有在200至350 nm中分开的光线使用，这意味着只有含义的光显着。然而，细胞的许多基本生物学都发生在微分子复合物的水平上，尺寸范围为数十至几百nm，即超出了传统光学显微镜的范围。已经开发了超级分辨率显微镜（SRM），以打破或绕过经典的衍射极限，并将光学分辨率向下转移到宏分子或什至分子水平。它可以将单分子定位到20nm的精度。 SRM还可以提供粒子跟踪以跟随单分子，例如样品中的蛋白质，DNA，药物，没有损害分辨率。尽管诺丁汉大学（UON）设有一系列显微镜设施，但解决方案的差距很明显，需要SRM尖端技术将研究带入目前目前在诺丁汉生命科学目前无法实现的领域。其中一些领域包括：（i）微生物学：更好地了解细菌细胞如何相互相互作用，以及它们如何在细菌群落内和细胞之间转移分子和信号，称为生物膜；（ii）生物能源：了解某些细菌细胞能量储层如何转化为生物燃料，因此能够优化这些过程；（iii）合成生物学：了解人造细胞和专门的DNA结构如何发展，因为这可能在不同的工业环境中产生重大影响；（iv）干细胞生物学和组织工程：SRM将对理解干细胞中专门细胞的发展以及组织支架的发展产生重大影响，这对于修复不同受损的人类组织所需的再生医学至关重要。（v）植物科学：了解根源发育中的一些信号传导过程以及对作物生产和可持续农业影响的花粉发展机制；（vi）粮食安全：阐明病原体与农场动物宿主细胞之间相互作用的基本机制，这些机构在农业行业中造成重大损失，最终目的是针对其中一些人来减少它们所产生的负面影响，并（VII）分子药理学：（VII）分子药理学：促进其对药物目标的相互作用，以促进其优化的能力，以实现其优化的适用性，因此，将其启用效果。在上述领域的关键生物学问题将对科学，经济和社会产生重大影响。