Nano-3D microscope: made in Russia

Russian scientists have created a 3D microscope to study nanoobjects

RIA NewsRussian nanobiotechnologists, combining several well-known microscopy methods, have designed a device that allows to study the three-dimensional structure of objects at the nanoscale level and their optical properties.

They described their development in an article published in the journal ACS Nano (Mochalov et al., Combined Scanning Probe Nanotomography and Optical Microspectroscopy: A Correlative Technique for 3D Characterization of Nanomaterials).

Traditionally, scanning microscopy is used to study nanostructures, where the sample is "felt" with a sharp probe. However, this method gives only a two-dimensional image and does not allow to study the volumetric structure of the sample. Earlier, Anton Efimov, the founder of the Skolkovo resident company SNOTRA, found a way to circumvent this limitation by slicing the sample into the thinnest layers and scanning each separately. Together, the data obtained give an idea of the structure of a three-dimensional object.

The authors of the article in ASC Nano, scientists from the laboratory of nano-bioengineering of the National Research Nuclear University "MEPhI" and the company "SNOTRA", have designed a device that not only cuts the sample, but also conducts spectroscopy of layers, allowing you to determine the composition of the sample by how it reflects or absorbs light.

"We have made a device that combines a 3D microscope with nanoscale resolution and microspectroscopy, which gives a qualitative analysis of the sample. Thus, we can study volumetric nanomaterials very fully, we can tell how they are arranged, what they consist of and what their properties are," Konstantin Mochalov, one of the authors of the work from the Laboratory of nano–bioengineering at MEPhI, explained to RIA Novosti.

The principle of constructing three-dimensional images (drawing from the description of the device on the website of Nano Scan Technology LLC) – VM."The technology is in demand for controlling the production of nanomaterials, medicines, diagnostics and monitoring of treatment results," explained Igor Nabiev, head of the laboratory.

For example, you can examine sections of living tissues and "see" how the drug molecules are distributed in them.

While the microscope exists in the form of separate devices. The next task is to "pack" it into a single device, and in the future scientists plan to find a company that will be interested in its production.

Portal "Eternal youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru06.09.2013