Images with atomic resolution of nanowires taken with High-Resolution Transmission Electron Microscopy.
Cerdanyola del Vallès, 9th April, 2020. The provisional resolution of the last call for co-funding through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) of cooperative projects was announced today. The purpose of the call is to create, build, acquire and improve shared scientific and technological equipment and platforms. Among the approved strategic projects there are two proposals, one led by the ICN2 and the other by the IBMB-CSIC, which, thanks to the joint effort of nine research entities, will allow the installation of an advanced electron microscopy equipment at the ALBA Synchrotron. This will make Barcelona a hub of excellence in Europe for scientific collaboration in this field.
The first proposal is led by the ICN2, at a cost of approximately 4.1 million euros, is focused on acquiring and installing advanced equipment for electron microscopy and sample preparation especially designed for materials science and atomic-scale studies. This new installation consists of a Monochromated Transmission Electron Microscope with Aberration Correctors, to be installed at ALBA, and Focused Ion Beam (FIB) instrumentation to cut the samples in very thin layers and study them with atomic resolution, to be placed in the ICN2. In addition to the ERDF grant, this initiative was also made possible thanks to contributions by the “Severo Ochoa Centers of Excellence” ICN2 funds (SEV-2017-0706), the ALBA Synchrotron, CSIC, the ICMAB-CSIC, and the UAB, as well as private donations by the BIST and Microsoft.
The second proposal, led by the IBMB-CSIC and valued at about 1.7 million euros, is intended to purchase a high-voltage cryo-electron microscope for biological applications. This type of equipment allows observing the structure of biomolecules at atomic scale without the need to obtain crystals. It is a microscope suitable for biological sample screening and atomic-level structural data acquisition of large molecular and cellular complexes. It may be used, for example, to study the external structure of a coronavirus, such as the one responsible for currently COVID-19 pandemic, or the receptors these viruses use to get into cells. The acquisition is made possible thanks to funding from ERDF, the IBMB-CSIC and ALBA, as well as contributions by the IRB Barcelona, the CSIC, the CRG, the UAB and BIST.
This cross-cutting initiative perfectly aligns with the worldwide trend of centralizing this kind of equipment near large particle accelerators or synchrotron facilities, with the uniqueness that this new research space will be created inside the ALBA facility. It will be a laboratory complementary to synchrotron-light ALBA beamlines, which will bring great added value for materials science and structural biology. The construction works to accommodate the new equipment are planned to start before the end of the year and it is expected that in about two years the new space will be able to receive the first users and host a constantly updated equipment. The electron microscopy platform will provide new opportunities to both research groups and companies looking for state-of-the-art microscopy equipment.
The ERDF funds, granted by the Secretariat of University and Research of the Department of Business and Knowledge of the Generalitat of Catalonia (Catalan government), aims to provide the scientific community with equipment and platforms to enhance scientific and technological excellence, in particular those related to the transversal key enabling technologies included in the Research and Innovation Strategy for the Smart Specialisation of Catalonia (RIS3CAT). The contribution from European funds reaches up to 50 % of the total cost of the acquisition and deployment of the microscopes and associated equipment.
