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Newly opened imaging suite can 'see' single molecules 28 March 2006
The new
Imaging Suite at the Chemical Research Laboratory. Hagan Bayley, Professor of Chemical Biology, said: 'The opening of the new suite is a notable event. It allows researchers to "see" single molecules, measure their properties and track their movement.' Professor Bayley is using the system to analyse a hemolysin, a bacterial toxin. By using genetic engineering and targeted chemical modification, all greatly facilitated by the suite, he is able to design customised functions so the toxin is turned to good use. These new biomolecules are finding applications in drug delivery, where they are used to develop medications that move through the body to the precise areas where they are needed most. The University's Interdisciplinary Research Centre in bionanotechnology will particularly benefit from the new technology. Researchers are investigating naturally occurring biomolecular nanosystems, from the level of single molecules up to molecular machines - the latter are so small they cannot be seen with the naked eye. The new equipment should aid research into the production of artificial electronic and optical devices for medical research, drug design and information technology. CRL member, Dr Mark Wallace, is using the Imaging Suite to look directly at fluorescently-tagged single molecules to find detailed information. Dr Wallace said: 'If we were interested in the heights of people in a crowd rather than the properties of molecules, the bulk behaviour would yield only the average height. However, if it were possible to look at the crowd, person by person, studying the distribution of heights, a more meaningful insight could be made. The complexity of biological molecules, in both their underlying dynamic structure and their interactions, makes this single-molecule approach particularly valuable.' The facility will be available to external companies and researchers who want to access the latest technology. Source / Credit: University of Oxford
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