Summary
Electron microscopy and electron tomography are powerful tools by which to visualize the physical structure of protein assemblies, but their ability to localize specific proteins is limited. Optical techniques may offer solutions in this regard, but optical diffraction typically limits lateral resolution to ~200 nm. Sub-wavelength resolution optical imaging methods can circumvent the diffraction limit and has led to ‘super-resolution’ methods. These include stimulated-emission depletion microscopy and single-molecule localization microscopy (SMLM), such as photoactivated localization microscopy (PALM), stochastic optical reconstruction microscopy (STORM) and direct STORM (dSTORM). The application of PALM and dSTORM in biopharmaceutical development is still in its infancy and will be explored against novel drug targets and bioprocessing materials.
University Key Personnel: Prof Clemens Kaminski
Post-doctoral Research Associate: Dr Romain Laine
MedImmune Key Personnel: Paul Varley, Michael Washabaugh, Danielle Carroll, Damian Crowther, Michael Perkinton