MRI-R2: Development of biophotonics instrumentation for sensing subcellular structure at nanoscale

Northwestern University, Evanston IL

Investigators

Abstract

0960148 Backman This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5). The proposed instrument will allow cellular imaging at the nanoscale with resolution and sensitivity that are much higher than what is currently possible with optical microscopy. The instrument will combine the state-of-the-art confocal microscope and a partial wave spectroscopy module. The instrument will allow quantification of cellular nanoscale architecture with sensitivity up to a few nanometers, molecular as well as structural imaging in nearly real time. The instrument will work with live as well as fixed cells. The instrumentation takes advantage of a novel optical technology, single-cell partial-wave spectroscopic microscopy. The instrument will provide information about cell nanoarchitecture and its relationship to molecular events, which has not been possible to obtain before. The proposed microscope will be a unique device that will open new directions for basic science as well as translational research including cell biology, bioengineering and development of novel diagnostic devices, nanotechnology, fundamental electromagnetics, tissue engineering, and macromolecular biophysics.