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14.10.2022The CCiTUB participate in a bacteria characterization project using Cryo-Soft X-Ray Tomography techniques
PhD. Lidia Delgado, head of the Electronic Cryomicroscopy laboratory, of the Scientific and Technological Centers of the Universitat de Barcelona (CCiTUB), has collaborated with PhD. student Marc Iglesias Fernández and professors Maria Pau Ginebra and Montserrat Español from the Department of Biomaterials, Biomechanics and Tissue Engineering from the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (BBT-UPC), in a project entitled “Understanding the bactericidal potential of nanostructured calcium phosphates” which has been carried out at the ALBA Synchrotron (Cerdanyola del Vallès).
The main objective of the experiment has been the characterization of Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Bacillus Subtilis bacteria after being in contact with calcium phosphate surfaces with bactericidal topography. It has been carried out at the BL09 – MISTRAL line of the synchrotron using the Cryo-Soft x-Ray Tomography technique, with the help of Dra. Ana Joaquina Pérez, from the ALBA Synchrotron.
This collaboration between UPC, Sincrotró Alba and the Universitat de Barcelona has been possible thanks to the complementarity of knowledge and technologies between the centers involved and opens a path for new synergies in the field of electron microscopy with other institutions. Precisely, in the microscopy field, the CCiTUB have the recognition as a node of the (ELECMI) which will soon be strengthened with new equipment like the new JEOL NeoARM microscope and the dual-beam FIB/SEM
Cryo-Soft x-Ray Tomography
This technique allows the study of relatively thick biological samples, previously cryoimmobilized, and without the need to add chemical fixation or contrast agents that could alter the cellular structure. In addition, relatively high doses of radiation can be used without affecting the sample, allowing long exposures and acquisition of serial images. The method provides results with a final resolution of between 25-40 nm and can be used in correlation with other imaging techniques, such as Electron Tomography and Fluorescence Microscopy, allowing the study of complete cells in a state very close to its natural state.
The Cryomicroscopy laboratory of the CCiTUB has the necessary equipment and expert staff for the preparation of cryoimmobilized samples. Cryoimmobilized samples can be studied in the laboratory itself using the Cryo-Electronic Microscope and Cryo-Electronic Tomography, and also with other techniques that are carried out at other facilities, such as the ALBA Synchrotron.