ICFO Becomes Nanoscopy Imaging Reference Site for Leica

The Institute of Photonic Sciences (ICFO) has become a new nanoscopy imaging reference site for microscope developer Leica Microsystems GmbH.

ICFO’s experts in superresolution will partner with Leica Microsystems to conceptualize and implement technological improvements to the state-of-the-art systems from Leica. This three-year collaboration will also see the installation of the Leica TCS SP8 STED 3X microscopy system at the institution. Through the collaboration, Leica Microsystems and ICFO will work together to further develop the technology behind nanoscopy, find new applications in biomedicine and biophysics, and offer access to nanoscopy to a wide community of researchers across Europe including members of the Euro-BioImaging, Corbel European and LaserLab research infrastructure programs.

Nanoscopy overcomes earlier limits of optical microscopy by resolving structures down to just a few nanometers through methods such as stimulated emission depletion microscopy. Nanoscopy is a key investigative tool in the most important medical research of today including research into neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s. In Barcelona, researchers already use Leica Microsystems nanoscopy systems in cooperation with the Bellvitge Hospital and the University of Barcelona to study retinal degeneration, as well as the Sant Pau Hospital in Barcelona to study beta-amyloid plaques and their effects on Alzheimer’s disease, among other affiliations.

“We are thrilled with the addition of this new Leica state-of-the-art microscope and the new collaboration agreement set forward with Leica Microsystems R&D team,” said Pablo Loza, ICFO researcher and leader of the Super-Resolution Light Microscopy and Nanoscopy (SLN) facility at ICFO. “We are sure the new TCS SP8 STED 3X, combined with all other instruments within our SLN facility at ICFO, will produce a qualitative jump on today’s research and applications and will enable us to delve into a new realm of novel biomedical applications that we are yet to fathom.”

Leica Microsystems is a manufacturer of optical microscopes, equipment for the preparation of microscopic specimens and other related products.