UTS installs live super-resolution microscope

Still images can be useful, but moving ones far more so. Thus it is hoped the new DeltaVision OMX Blaze imaging system unveiled at the University of Technology Sydney will give researchers unprecedented insights into how living cells function and interact with drugs or pathogens.

The $400,000 imaging system was co-funded by the university along with $200,000 from the NSW government’s Science Leveraging Fund.

The Microbial Imaging Facility (MIF) at UTS also sports a cutting edge DeltaVision OMX microscope, which allows previously invisible detail to be revealed in live samples.

Both systems were developed and manufactured in the United States by Applied Precision, a GE Healthcare Company.

“This new imaging platform is truly amazing,” said Professor Ian Charles, Director of the i3 Institute at UTS.

“We are at the forefront of being able to actually see infectious disease processes at sub-micron level resolution level, in living cells,” he said.

“This will enable research aimed at better understanding how microorganisms such as malaria, bacteria and viruses cause infection and has the potential to help develop treatments for life-threatening diseases.”