The President of the Catalan Government, Salvador Illa, and the Catalan Minister for Research and Universities, Núria Montserrat, inaugurated this unique infrastructure at the Barcelona Science Park today. The microscope, funded by IBEC and FEDER*, opens the door to the reconstruction of biomolecules and viruses in three dimensions, among other applications.
A unique transmission and scanning electron microscope ((S)TEM – (L)TEM), a key infrastructure for biomedical and nanotechnological research in Catalonia, was inaugurated today at the Barcelona Science Park (PCB).
The installation of the new microscope has been made possible thanks to a major investment by IBEC, which has contributed one million euros out of a total of 3.3 million euros, demonstrating its commitment to innovation in technologies applied to medicine.
This revolutionary equipment will allow the study of nanomaterials with spatio-temporal resolution. Observing biology in action is driving targeted therapies, pathogen detection and critical molecular studies that are transforming medicine.
Giuseppe Battaglia
The inauguration ceremony was attended by the President of the Catalan Government de Catalunya, Salvador Illa, and the Catalan Minister for Research and Universities, Núria Montserrat, who toured the facility and saw first-hand its scientific applications. Representatives from the University of Barcelona (UB) and the PCB, where the microscope is located, also attended.
This project is an example of the collaboration between CERCA research centres such as IBEC, IDIBAPS, IDIBELL, the SJD Barcelona Children’s Hospital and the University of Barcelona, consolidating a scientific network at the highest level.
A key supporter of this initiative has been the Joan Ribas Araquistain Foundation, which has relied on IBEC to promote a programme of activities aimed at improving the scientific infrastructure and attracting talent in the field. Thanks to these efforts, IBEC has attracted internationally renowned researchers such as ICREA Research Professor Giuseppe Battaglia and Dr Lorena Ruiz from University College London, specialists in liquid sample microscopy. The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology (BIST) has also collaborated financially with the seven CERCA centres that make it up to promote an advanced scientific project in precision medicine.
Access to this state of the art equipment will enable the most advanced microscopy techniques and the ability to visualise samples in the liquid phase. ‘This revolutionary equipment will allow the study of nanomaterials with spatio-temporal resolution. Its innovative core: capturing the 3D structure of proteins, viruses, bacteria and cells in their natural environment, revealing their dynamics in real time – from molecular interactions to cellular processes – without artificial alteration. Observing biology in action is driving targeted therapies, pathogen detection and critical molecular studies that are transforming medicine,’ says Professor Battaglia, Principal Investigator in IBEC’s Molecular Bionics Group and an international leader in advanced electron microscopy.
The new equipment, combined with liquid-phase sample holders, will allow researchers to preserve and visualise proteins in an environment that is as close as possible to their natural environment. ‘More importantly, it will allow us to observe the aggregation dynamics of misfolded proteins involved in neurodegenerative diseases in real time, in the liquid state and at the nanometre scale, without damaging them. This instrument is one of the few in the world that allows this type of ground-breaking research,’ details Dr Ruiz Pérez, a senior researcher in Battaglia’s group and Serra Húnter Assistant Professor at UB, explained.
This new equipment will open up new avenues for basic research in biology and strengthen IBEC’s capacity to develop applications in the field of precision medicine. In addition, as the coordinator of the Complementary Plan for Biotechnology Applied to Health and the Spanish Nanomedicine Platform (NANOMED Spain), IBEC will promote collaboration within the network of Catalan and Spanish institutions, fostering the advancement of these techniques in bioengineering and biology.
*European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) for cooperative projects for the creation, construction, acquisition and improvement of shared scientific and technological facilities and platforms.
