Instrumentation: 3 electron microscopes to support nanotechnology research

Commercialization of nanotechnology products got a boost recently when the California NanoSystems Institute (CNSI) specified three sophisticated microscopes for nanotechnology research. The first two systems are expected in the first half of 2007; the third in the fourth quarter.

The mission of CNSI is to encourage university/industry collaboration and to enable the rapid commercialization of discoveries in nanosystems. Work at CNSI targets several areas of nanosystems-related research: energy, environment, and nanotoxicology; nanobiotechnology and biomaterials; nanomechanical and nanofluidic systems; and nanoelectronics, phonics, and architectonics.

“Seeing molecules, materials, and molecular machines in three dimensions is critical to nanoscience,” said Hong Zhou, faculty director of CNSI’s Electron Imaging Center for NanoMachines (EICN). “With these microscopes, we will be able to image, characterize, and analyze structures down to the atomic scale delivering three-dimensional structural information for biological, molecular, and materials sciences.”

Electron imaging represents very powerful and indispensable modern tools for biologists, nano-materials scientists, and engineers, said the UCLA research group. Cryo-electron cryomicrosopy plays an important role in determining sub-nanometer-resolution structures of macromolecular complexes or biological nano-machines, it noted. At this resolution, secondary structural elements are readily recognizable.

www.cnsi.ucla.edu

www.cnsi.ucla.edu/staticpages/core-facilities#eicn

Do you have experience and expertise with the topics mentioned in this content? You should consider contributing to our WTWH Media editorial team and getting the recognition you and your company deserve. Click here to start this process.