Inside the Rosalind Franklin Institute’s High-Resolution Imaging Suite
Researchers at the Rosalind Franklin Institute are deploying a specialized Stimulated Emission Depletion optical microscope to examine thick biological tissue samples and organoids. The goal: uncover cellular mechanisms that go wrong in conditions like inflammatory bowel disease.
The technology utilizes doughnut-shaped lasers to achieve high-resolution fluorescence microscopy. This allows scientists to study living cellular processes in unprecedented detail.
Overcoming the Diffraction Limit With Engineered Laser Beams
The system uses lasers shaped like doughnuts to sharpen the focal point, vastly increasing image resolution.
Furthermore, the technology enables researchers to apply multiple colored fluorescent tags to a single sample.
“This capability lets scientists observe how proteins assemble into complexes and where those assemblies malfunction during disease progression,” noted Dr. Karina Pombo-Garcia, group leader at the Rosalind Franklin Institute lab housing the equipment.
Mapping Human Bowel Development Using Patient Organoids
One of the primary research initiatives utilizing the new equipment focuses on mapping how cells form during the development of the human bowel. Investigators are using thick organoids and tissue samples derived directly from patients rather than flat slides.
This methodological shift allows the team to better recapitulate authentic in vivo environments.
Rarity of the United Kingdom Installation and Nobel-Winning Roots
The underlying super-resolved fluorescence microscopy technology previously earned its developers the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 2014.
Worth a look