ONI Nanoimager benchtop single molecule fluorescence and STORM imager LMB 2022/05

生物过程发生在许多长度尺度上。作为人类，我们可以在很多层面上研究自己，整个身体，器官，单个细胞，甚至是特定分子相互作用的水平。在疾病的情况下，通常有必要在分子水平上研究一个过程。药物本身是一种分子，它被设计成与我们体内其他一些特定分子相互作用，目的是阻止或逆转疾病的进程。考虑到这一点，重要的是科学家们有工具可以让他们非常详细地观察生物过程。光学显微镜就是这样一种工具。光学显微镜具有悠久的历史，可以深入了解肉眼无法看到的生物过程和疾病过程。然而，光学显微镜有其局限性。我们不能在单细胞水平以下观察生命。例如，即使在最好的光学显微镜下，细菌也只能勉强看得见。引起疾病的病毒通常太小，根本看不见。近年来，已经找到了解决这个问题的办法。我们现在能够观察到比以前精细十倍甚至一百倍的细节。这样做的诀窍是以一种非常特殊的方式突出一个分子，这样在光学显微镜下就可以检测到它。在其他方面，显微镜与使用了一百年的显微镜没有什么不同。使用最新和最灵敏的显微镜相机，可以以前所未有的精度定位突出的分子。这反过来意味着我们可以在仅比分子本身大几倍的长度尺度上建立突出显示的分子之间的关系。广义地说，这种新颖的光学显微镜方法被称为超分辨率显微镜。通过申请购买超分辨率显微镜，我们希望购买一种仪器，可以让我们对多种不同分子类型之间的相互作用进行成像，每种分子类型都以不同的颜色突出显示。我们的目标是在分子水平上理解基本的生物过程和相互作用。这样做的目的是，获得的这些信息可以为疾病过程提供新的见解，并在以后导致新的治疗策略的发明。

Biological processes happen on many length scales. As humans, we can study ourselves at many levels, the whole body, organs, single cells or even right down to the level of specific molecular interactions. In the case of disease it is often necessary to study a process at this molecular level. A drug itself is a molecule designed to interact with a few other specific molecules within our bodies with the intent to stop or reverse a disease process. With this in mind, it is important that scientists have tools that allow them to peer into biological processes in extremely fine detail.One such tool is the light microscope. Light microscopy has a long history of giving insight into biological processes and disease processes that cannot be seen with the naked eye. However light microscopy has limits. We cannot observe life at much below the single cell level. Bacteria are for example are only just visible in even the best light microscopes. Disease causing viruses are in general too small to be seen at all. In recent years a solution to this problem has been found. We are now able to observe detail ten times or even one hundred times finer than previously possible. The trick used to do this is to highlight a molecule in a very specific manner such that it is now detectable in a light microscope. In other aspects the microscope is no different to those in use for a hundred years. Using the latest and most sensitive microscope cameras it is possible to locate that highlighted molecule with unprecedented precision. This in turn means we can establish relation ships betwen highlighted molecules on lenght scales only a few time bigger than the molecule itself. Broadly speaking this novel light microscopy method is known as superresolution microscopy. With this grant application to buy a super resolution microscope, we seek to purchase an instrument that lets us image interactions between multiple different molecule types, each highlighted in a different colour. Our goal is to understand fundamental biological processes and interactions at the molecular level. The intent is that such information gained can provide new insight into disease processes and later lead to the invention of new theraputic strategies.