CSSB and Leica Microsystems establish an Advanced light and Fluorescence Microscopy (ALFM) facility and integrated Cryo-Imaging solutions

Hamburg.

Leica Microsystems are pleased to announce a new collaboration with the Centre for Structural Systems Biology (CSSB). The partnership, being announced to coincide with the Opening Symposium of the CSSB, will see major collaboration between the two parties for the development of new integrated Cryo-Imaging solutions and the establishment of an advanced microscopy facility.

The use of cryo-EM – a groundbreaking technology which deep-freezes biological samples thus enabling them to be examined in their native state at high-resolution – is central to the CSSB’s research, and was recently the subject of the 2017 Nobel Prize for Chemistry. For instance, work done in Professor Kay Grünewald’s team seeks to better understand the important steps in the infection process in viruses. Cryo electron tomography, one of the two main types of cryo-EM, is employed to examine molecules directly in their native cellular environment.

Information from cryo-EM is also used as part of an integrated structural biology approach in combination with discoveries from other fields such as biochemistry, crystallography and mass spectrometry.

The Centre for Structural Systems Biology is a new research centre supported by ten partners from Northern Germany including three universities and six research institutes. Its mission is to become a leading international research centre in the city of Hamburg.

“We are delighted to announce the CSSB as our partner. Their combined expertise in cryo-EM and light microscopy, along with their deep knowledge in structural biology, will be invaluable to the collaboration as we further develop our solutions” Christoph Thumser, Sales Director, Life Science Research, EMEA.

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About Leica Microsystems
Leica Microsystems develops and manufactures microscopes and scientific instruments for the analysis of microstructures and nanostructures. Ever since the company started as a family business in the nineteenth century, its instruments have been widely recognized for their optical precision and innovative technology. It is one of the market leaders in compound and stereo microscopy, digital microscopy, confocal laser scanning microscopy with related imaging systems, electron microscopy sample preparation, and surgical microscopes.

Leica Microsystems has seven major plants and product development sites around the world. The company is represented in over 100 countries, has sales and service organizations in 20 countries, and an international network of distribution partners. Its headquarters are located in Wetzlar, Germany.