Achucarro installs the latest technology in super-resolution microscopy
It is the first equipment of its kind in the Basque Country and in Spain
Achucarro Basque Center for Neuroscience, established back in June this year, is shaping its core facilities. To that end, the Achucarro has recently installed a cutting-edge microscope which will open new ways to investigate the brain. In turn, this equipment will attract highly qualified scientists and research projects to the Basque Country, and thus contribute to the international visibility of our Neuroscience community.
The new imaging facility is endowed with a state-of-the art Leica confocal microscope TCS STED CW – SP8 that allows exploring details of brain tissue, several folds below the limit of the diffraction barrier (up to 50 nanometers) in both life and fixed cells and tissues. The new technology makes it possible the observation of very fast dynamic cellular processes at the nanoscale in real time.
The TCS STED CW – SP8 is equipped with a white excitation laser which provides high versatility in using fluorochromes and precise imaging with a super-resolution system that resolves structural details in the range of 70-80 nm. Unlike other microscopes, the STED CW – SP8 scans the sample and acquires images simultaneously at high speed without using mathematical algorithms. This allows the study of dynamic processes inside living cells at a resolution of less than 100 nm. The ability to combine super-resolution and live imaging makes this equipment the first of its kind in the Basque Country and confers applicability of great importance in the field of neurobiology.