FRANKFURT. With a so-called cryo plasma-FIB (Plasma Focused Ion Beam) scanning electron microscope with nanomanipulator, the Goethe University in Frankfurt (Germany) is expanding its research infrastructure with a powerful instrument. The microscope was inaugurated on Thursday at the Buchmann Institute for Molecular Life Sciences on the Riedberg Campus – as the first of its kind in Hesse and one of only a few in all of Germany.
The large-scale instrument works with a focused plasma ion beam, which can be used to prepare tiny sections from biological cells – so-called nanobiopsies with dimensions in the nanometer range. The decisive advantage over conventional ion beam microscopes: the plasma beam works more gently and faster, which is particularly important for sensitive biological samples such as water-containing cells. These ultra-thin sections can then be examined using both scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. This makes it possible to visualize protein structures in their natural environment or to trace cellular changes in diseases such as Alzheimer's or cancer at the molecular level.
"This microscope bridges medicine and structural cell biology, opening up completely new possibilities for our research," emphasizes Prof. Achilleas Frangakis, who secured the large-scale instrument worth 5.6 million euros. "We can now visualize biological processes under the microscope that were previously hidden – such as how proteins work together in cells in the still unknown physiological context or even how diseases develop at the nanoscale."
The non-profit Dr. Rolf M. Schwiete Foundation provided substantial funding for the microscope, for which it was honored with a plaque on the device. For the Foundation, supporting high-quality medical research projects is a central concern in order to contribute to improving research conditions and advancing medical knowledge.
Prof. Bernhard Brüne, Vice President for Research at Goethe University, emphasized: "Without this generous funding, this acquisition would not have been possible. The device is indispensable for work in the Cluster of Excellence SCALE – it allows researchers to examine the architecture of cells in previously unattainable detail."
SCALE (Subcellular Architecture of Life) is a joint research project of Goethe University and Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz within the Rhine-Main Universities (RMU) alliance, the Max Planck Institutes for Biophysics and Brain Research, and other partners. Researchers there investigate how cellular structures are built and how errors in this molecular blueprint lead to diseases. The new microscope makes it possible to three-dimensionally image and analyze precisely these defective structures in cancer cells or in neurodegenerative diseases.
Prof. Maike Windbergs, Research Dean at the Department of Biochemistry, Chemistry and Pharmacy, noted that the device makes the Frankfurt location significantly more attractive for international collaborations. Prof. Martin Pos, Dean of Studies at the department, also emphasized that students and doctoral candidates here gain access to a technology that is only available at a few locations worldwide – an important building block for their scientific training and later careers. Prof. Inga Hänelt, spokesperson for the Cluster of Excellence SCALE, stressed that the microscope will be used by researchers from both RMU partner universities as well as the other partners and allows new insights into the subcellular architecture of life.
Initial images have already deciphered a cellular structure that is crucial for human kidney function. The microscope is now available for a wide range of research projects.