This all sounds wonderful, but I don't believe the powers that be will allow a cure for any of these money making illinesses. The Pharms will not allow it!!!!!! ----- Original Message ----- From: "Ode Coyote" <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Tuesday, March 19, 2002 8:03 AM Subject: CS>Amazing new microscope (article, UC Berkeley).
> > > <http://www.berkeley.edu/>Berkeley > Microsized microscopes: UC Berkeley researchers develop microlens and > scanner that can provide views inside living cells > 13 March 2002 > > By Sarah Yang, Media Relations > > Berkeley - Imagine a future where doctors can view the DNA of tumor cells > inside a patient as cancer drugs are delivered, or where anti-terrorism > units can identify single molecules of a biowarfare agent on site with a > portable detector. With a significant development in miniaturized > microscopes at the University of California, Berkeley, scientists are > inching closer to such possibilities. > > Luke Lee > Assistant Professor Luke Lee is developing a micro-lens smaller than the > period at the end of this sentence. Peg Skorpinski photo > > micro-CIA > Shown is an image of a scanner of the micro confocal imaging array, or > micro-CIA, taken by a scanning electron microscope. The photopolymer > microlens in the center of the scanner is shaped by surface tension, not by > etching, and is therefore extremely smooth. Comb-drives on opposing sides > of the scanner power the side-to-side movements using electrostatic forces. > The "fingers" of the comb-drives are spaced 2-5 microns apart. > > micro confocal imaging array > As seen in this schematic of a micro confocal imaging array, the staging > platform that holds the sample is on the bottom. Three scanners stacked > vertically above the platform scan each of the three axes (X, Y and Z) for > three-dimensional images. The fluorescent signal detector sits above the > scanners. > > > Luke P. Lee, assistant professor of bioengineering at UC Berkeley, and his > doctoral student Sunghoon Kwon have captured an image of a plant cell with > a microlens smaller than the period at the end of this sentence. > > "It's shrinking a million dollar machine down to a size that can balance on > the tip of a ballpoint pen," said Lee, who presented the results at a > recent International Conference on Micro Electro Mechanical Systems. "The > microlens and scanner we've made is a crucial part of a microscope that is > 500 to 1,000 times smaller than anything in its class." > > In testing the accuracy of the microlens and scanner, Kwon placed a cell > sample taken from a flowering lily, Convallaria majalis, onto the platform > of a conventional confocal microscope. Without moving the sample, they > captured a cross-sectional image of the cell wall, first with the > traditional microscope, then with the microlens scanner. They found that > the two images matched, showing for the first time that his microscopic > lens could perform as well as a conventional one. > > "Honestly, we were shocked," said Lee, who also is co-director of the > Berkeley Sensor & Actuator Center. "What we've finally shown is a proof of > concept. We have tested only 2-D images now, but it's just a matter of time > and manpower before we get the first 3-D image." > > The microlens and scanner are part of a device Lee is developing called the > micro confocal imaging array, or micro-CIA. The micro-CIA belongs to a > group of devices known as Bio-Polymer-Opto-Electro-Mechanical-Systems, or > BioPOEMS. Invented by Lee, BioPOEMS marry the world of optics to that of > microelectromechanical systems, or MEMS, for use in biological applications. > > The size and sensitivity of the micro-CIA would allow technicians to > quickly test even trace amounts of anthrax or smallpox in the field. It > could become a crucial part of a "lab-on-a-chip," where researchers can > study genes and proteins in ways unimagined decades ago. Lee is > particularly excited by the potential for advancements in medicine possible > with a miniaturized microscope. > > "You could put this device on the tip of an endoscope that could be guided > inside a cancer patient," said Lee. "Doctors could then see how tumor cells > behave in vivo. It would also be feasible to deliver drugs directly to the > tumor cell, and then view how the cell responds to the drugs." > > High-end confocal microscopes, which house several lasers, take up to a > meter of desk space, can cost more than $1 million and typically require > highly-trained operators to run them, said Lee. The high cost of owning and > running confocal microscopes limits the amount of research that can be done > with them, he said. > > "My goal is to not only shrink the size of these microscopes, but to make > them as easy and as cheap to use as a digital camera," said Lee. It is with > a hint of populist sentiment that Lee began devising a teeny version of the > confocal microscope, the micro-CIA. He envisions a future where confocal > microscopy is as common as a Bunsen burner in academic and industry > research labs. > > Unlike scanning electron microscopes, which construct 3-D topological > images of dead cells, confocal microscopes can capture images of nanoscale > activity inside living cells. Confocal microscopes also allow researchers > to focus on specific components inside the cell, such as DNA strands, or > mitochondria. > > Cell parts marked with a fluorescent dye are "excited" by the laser and > emit light back at specific wavelengths. Mitochondria, for instance, emit a > fluorescent red color while nucleic acids emit a fluorescent blue, > depending upon the molecular labeling of each component in the cell. To > form 3-D images, 2-D slices are stacked together in a way similar to how an > MRI image is formed. > > Equipped with a microlens about 300 microns in diameter, the microscopic > scanner Lee tested is a square of about 1 millimeter on each side and can > move a distance of 50 to 100 microns. Lee is also testing a nanolens as > small as 500 nanometers in diameter, or 200 times thinner than a strand of > human hair, and smaller than the average red blood cell. > > Lee's design of the micro-CIA will include three scanners stacked > vertically above the staging platform where samples are studied. The > scanners will measure each of the three axes - X, Y and Z - in > three-dimensional space. > > To make the scanner and lens, Lee employed technology similar to that used > to manufacture microchips. The lens is made of a tiny drop of polymer > shaped by surface tension and hardened by exposure to ultraviolet light. To > focus the lens, Lee and Kwon adjusted the distance between the lens and > sample. While it is also possible to focus by changing the shape of the > lens, Lee said doing so would likely increase the cost and complexity of > production, something he wants to avoid. > > Comb-drives on each side of the microlens act as microactuators, tiny > engines powered by electrostatic forces that move the microlens back and > forth 4,500 times per second. Sensors then pick up fluorescent signals and > feed the data back to a computer where the image is displayed in real time. > > Lee's work is part of UC Berkeley's Health Sciences Initiative, which > brings together scientists from disparate fields in the pursuit of major > advances in health and medicine. > > The research is part of a three-year project funded by the Defense Advanced > Research Projects Agency. > > > > > -- > The silver-list is a moderated forum for discussion of colloidal silver. > > To join or quit silver-list or silver-digest send an e-mail message to: > [email protected] -or- [email protected] > with the word subscribe or unsubscribe in the SUBJECT line. > > To post, address your message to: [email protected] > Silver-list archive: http://escribe.com/health/thesilverlist/index.html > List maintainer: Mike Devour <[email protected]> >
