DELMIC Microscopy Blog

Over the past decades, researchers have been dedicated to studying the beta cells in the islets of Langerhans in order to better understand Diabetes Type 1, one of the two widely spread forms of diabetes. Diabetes Type 1 is considered to be one of the most inheritable common diseases [1] and it is estimated that 9% of the population is affected by this life-threatening disease [2]. Despite the intensive research efforts over the past years, the exact causes of the disease are still unknown.

Studying microorganisms (or microbes), which are found in the ocean waters, is a fascinating process that can reveal the hidden secrets about ocean chemistry, biology and climate. Marine microorganisms are exceedingly small, diverse in their forms and distributed across the ocean, which makes it so challenging to analyze them.

Still, marine microbiologists are searching for the answers that will help us to understand the ocean’s ecosystem and how it influences us. This is the focus of the research group of Dr. Sten Littman from Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology.

Integrated correlative light and electron microscopy (iCLEM) is a technique, in which both fluorescence imaging and electron imaging can be performed on one instrument without needing to transfer the sample. Correlative microscopy approach is being used worldwide for cancer research, in marine biology, neuroscience, and cell biology. Recently this technique has also been applied in the field of geology to gain an insight into the sedimentary organic matter in geological materials.

Nowadays it has become crucial for life scientists to gain structural and functional data about the sample in order to understand the biological processes happening at the scale of the nanometer. Light or fluorescence microscopy made it possible for the researchers to detect the functional information and image different colors and parts of the cell. It provides the data to understand the dynamics of the cell, however, the diffraction limit of light doesn’t allow distinguishing objects that are smaller than the wavelength of light. That is when the life scientists turn to electron microscopy, which provides the structural information in a high resolution.

How can your research benefit from correlative light and electron microscopy? Why is this technique becoming increasingly attractive to many scientists in different fields of research? This is the main focus of the newest video, in which our application specialist Sangeetha Hari explains the main advantages of correlative light and electron microscopy on the SECOM, a unique microscopy solution for life sciences. 

Understanding the relationship between structure and function in biology requires continuous developments in the field of microscopy. While electron microscopes and fluorescence microscopes have been go-to techniques for studying organic samples at a high resolution, individually they fall short in offering the exhaustive data needed for truly in-depth life science research.

In 2011, the Charged Particle Optics group at TU Delft completed the development of the SECOM. This system integrates a light and electron microscope, thus combining the labelling capabilities of fluorescence microscopy with the high-resolution nanoscale data obtained from electron microscopy. Six years later, the department of Imaging Physics houses no less than five SECOM systems.