In the last years, major advances in imaging across all spatial scales have expanded the breadth of biological questions answered by researchers and clinicians. These improvements have shed light on characterizing fundamental biological dynamics, thus significantly contributing to the improvement of EU citizens’ quality of life, by yielding targeted therapeutics, enhanced diagnostic visualization and significant advances in medicine. Super Resolution microscopy (SR) has been a milestone discovery, which enables imaging beyond the optical diffraction limit, which is typically around 250nm, or ¼ of a micron. SR imaging has been an integral tool for cell biologists, parasitologists and virologists, as what was once impossible to detect with diffraction-limited optics can now be visualized at the single molecule scale. Despite its utility, SR has yet to become a standard imaging modality like confocal or widefield microscopy. Prior to the conception of LiveCodim, dissemination of SR technology was limited by three critical challenges:
• Damage to the biological tissue – intense light used for imaging is toxic to living cells and perturb their native environment or kills them
• Technical complexity – successful operation requires nuanced skill and experience to achieve the theoretically-achievable resolution
• Cost of ownership – a complete product solution typically costs around half million euros, greatly limiting both the accessibility to large core facilities and thus scope of research on a global scale.
The COVID pandemic made everyone aware of the importance of better understanding and quantifying the biological realm we are immersed in, and as a result the demand for SR tools market is growing tremendously.
The project LiveCodim by BioAxial and Telight employs COnical DIffraction Microscopy (CODIM) using proprietary and well-patented technology.
The general objectives of this project are aimed at scaling up both the attainability and accessibility of SR microscopy with a breakthrough solution:
• Specifically designed for the study of living cells
• A plug-and-play system requiring neither extensive, multi-skill staff training nor complex sample preparation
• 3x more cost-effective than the few other comparable solutions, with higher resolution
• Turning any fluorescence microscope into the latest generation SR system.
