Tractor Beam Traps Bacteria
Up to now, if scientists wanted to study blood cells, algae, or bacteria under the microscope, they had to mount these cells on a substrate such as a glass slide. Physicists at Bielefeld and Frankfurt Universities have developed a method that traps biological cells with a laser beam enabling them to study them at very high resolutions.
The Bielefeld physicists have further developed the procedure for use in superresolution fluorescence microscopy. This is considered to be a key technology in biology and biomedicine because it delivers the first way to study biological processes in living cells at a high scale – something that was previously only possible with electron microscopy. To obtain images with such microscopes, researchers add fluorescent probes to the cells they wish to study, and these will then light up when a laser beam is directed towards them. A sensor can then be used to record this fluorescent radiation so that researchers can even gain three-dimensional images of the cells.
In their new method, the Bielefeld researchers use a second laser beam as an optical trap so that the cells float under the microscope and can be moved at will. ‘The laser beam is very intensive but invisible to the naked eye because it uses infrared light,’ says Robin Diekmann, a member of the Biomolecular Photonics Research Group.
Professor Huser and his team want to further modify the method so that it will enable them to observe the interplay between living cells. They would then be able to study, for example, how germs penetrate cells.
To develop the new methods, the Bielefeld scientists are working together with Prof. Dr. Mike Heilemann and Christoph Spahn from the Johann Wolfgang Goethe University of Frankfurt am Main.
Contacts and sources:
Bielefeld University
Citation: Robin Diekmann, Deanna Wolfson, Christoph Spahn, Mike Heilemann, Mark Schüttpelz, Thomas Huser: Nanoscopy of bacterial cells immobilized by holographic optical tweezers. Nature Communications, http://www.nature.com/articles/ncomms13711 , published on the 13th of December 2016
Source:
Anyone can join.
Anyone can contribute.
Anyone can become informed about their world.
"United We Stand" Click Here To Create Your Personal Citizen Journalist Account Today, Be Sure To Invite Your Friends.
Please Help Support BeforeitsNews by trying our Natural Health Products below!
Order by Phone at 888-809-8385 or online at https://mitocopper.com M - F 9am to 5pm EST
Order by Phone at 866-388-7003 or online at https://www.herbanomic.com M - F 9am to 5pm EST
Order by Phone at 866-388-7003 or online at https://www.herbanomics.com M - F 9am to 5pm EST
Humic & Fulvic Trace Minerals Complex - Nature's most important supplement! Vivid Dreams again!
HNEX HydroNano EXtracellular Water - Improve immune system health and reduce inflammation.
Ultimate Clinical Potency Curcumin - Natural pain relief, reduce inflammation and so much more.
MitoCopper - Bioavailable Copper destroys pathogens and gives you more energy. (See Blood Video)
Oxy Powder - Natural Colon Cleanser! Cleans out toxic buildup with oxygen!
Nascent Iodine - Promotes detoxification, mental focus and thyroid health.
Smart Meter Cover - Reduces Smart Meter radiation by 96%! (See Video).