{"644724":{"#nid":"644724","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Microscopic Improvements Make a Big Impact","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EBy Zoe Elledge\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EFor the first time, a microscopy system has been able to demonstrate super-resolution imaging of living cells in flow.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EWalter H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.bme.gatech.edu\/bme\/faculty\/Shu-Jia\u0022\u003EAssistant Professor Shu Jia\u003C\/a\u003E, along with his \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/sites.google.com\/site\/thejialab\/\u0022\u003ELaboratory for Systems Biophotonics\u003C\/a\u003E, recently introduced their super-resolution optofluidic scanning microscopy system (OSM). It can view sub-diffraction-limit details of flowing cells and includes a high-quality microscope, a microfluidic system, and a micro lens array. These elements combine to create a grid of light spots that illuminate the sample inside a microfluidic channel. \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003ECurrent microscopy technologies often sacrifice high-resolution images for a high throughput rate \u0026mdash; the number of cells moving through the system to be analyzed. These systems need to stop the flow of cellular material in order to obtain a high-resolution image and therefore disturb the throughput rate. The flaws inherent in the current systems pose problems to researchers who need to analyze a large number of samples and want to take high-resolution images continuously. Jia\u0026rsquo;s new OSM system provides users the ability to do both.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;When you want to look at a cell, much of its organelles and structures are smaller than the conventional limit of the microscopes,\u0026rdquo; Jia said. \u0026ldquo;You want to have a higher resolution so that you can resolve finer structures. We\u0026rsquo;re trying to provide a system that can generate super-resolution images of the cells in flow so that you can learn more information from the cells and glean more biological insights.\u0026rdquo;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EJia and his team \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/pubs.rsc.org\/en\/Content\/ArticleLanding\/LC\/2021\/D0LC00889C#!divAbstract\u0022\u003Edescribed their optofluidic scanning microscopy technology\u003C\/a\u003E in the Royal Society of Chemistry journal \u003Cem\u003ELab on a Chip\u003C\/em\u003E. Their study appeared on the back cover of the third issue for 2021.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThe OSM system illuminates the flowing sample in a pattern called multi-focal excitation, which provides super-resolution images of the sample and allows the team to extract even more information during analysis. Multi-focal excitation allows the system to take images without disrupting the flow of samples and makes it a revolutionary addition to the field of microscopy.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EAnother unique feature of the OSM is its platform accessibility, which is currently a topic of concern in the field of super-resolution microscopy. Jia\u0026rsquo;s lab created OSM to be compatible with various types of devices and samples so that its use can be broad and interdisciplinary.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;Just like a regular microscope, a lab can use it to image any sample it needs,\u0026rdquo; said Biagio Mandracchia, the paper\u0026rsquo;s first author and a postdoctoral fellow who works in Jia\u0026rsquo;s lab. \u0026ldquo;It offers a variety of opportunities for different disciplines and levels of research.\u0026rdquo;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003ELooking forward, OSM could be applied to fundamental biology studies, providing super-resolution images of large cellular populations and the individual organelles within a single cell. \u0026nbsp;It could also be used to analyze tissue samples in biopsies. Jia said the technology could be used in preclinical and clinical studies, offering large amounts of diagnostic information faster.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;Our technique is simple, so we expect to see it used by physicians for obtaining diagnostics and analyzing samples, which will potentially have a large impact in both fundamental and clinical research,\u0026rdquo; he said. \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EShu Jia\u0026rsquo;s lab combines microfluidics with super-resolution microscopy to create a revolutionary new imaging system\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Shu Jia\u2019s lab combines microfluidics with super-resolution microscopy to create a revolutionary new imaging system"}],"uid":"27446","created_gmt":"2021-02-26 14:22:07","changed_gmt":"2021-02-26 18:27:37","author":"Joshua Stewart","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2021-02-26T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2021-02-26T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"644714":{"id":"644714","type":"image","title":"Optofluidic Scanning Microscopy","body":null,"created":"1614289056","gmt_created":"2021-02-25 21:37:36","changed":"1614289056","gmt_changed":"2021-02-25 21:37:36","alt":"Illustration of super-resolution optofluidic scanning microscopy, which allows for imaging of living cells in flow. (Illustration Courtesy: Shu Jia)","file":{"fid":"244779","name":"Lab-on-a-Chip-Cover-Image-Shu-Jia-h.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/Lab-on-a-Chip-Cover-Image-Shu-Jia-h.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/Lab-on-a-Chip-Cover-Image-Shu-Jia-h.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":272364,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/Lab-on-a-Chip-Cover-Image-Shu-Jia-h.jpg?itok=EnCMcTtO"}},"644715":{"id":"644715","type":"image","title":"Lab on a Chip 2021 Issue 3 Back Cover","body":null,"created":"1614289214","gmt_created":"2021-02-25 21:40:14","changed":"1614289214","gmt_changed":"2021-02-25 21:40:14","alt":"Back cover of the third 2021 issue of the journal Lab on a Chip, featuring an illustration of Shu Jia\u0027s super-resolution optofluidic scanning microscopy.","file":{"fid":"244782","name":"Lab-on-a-Chip-Back-Cover-2021-3.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/Lab-on-a-Chip-Back-Cover-2021-3.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/Lab-on-a-Chip-Back-Cover-2021-3.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":281150,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/Lab-on-a-Chip-Back-Cover-2021-3.jpg?itok=H5WW7zAx"}}},"media_ids":["644714","644715"],"related_links":[{"url":"https:\/\/pubs.rsc.org\/en\/Content\/ArticleLanding\/LC\/2021\/D0LC00889C#!divAbstract","title":"\u0022Super-resolution optofluidic scanning microscopy,\u0022  Lab Chip, 2021, 21, 489-493 "},{"url":"https:\/\/sites.google.com\/site\/thejialab\/","title":"Laboratory for Systems Biophotonics"},{"url":"https:\/\/www.bme.gatech.edu\/bme\/faculty\/Shu-Jia","title":"Shu Jia"}],"groups":[{"id":"1254","name":"Wallace H. Coulter Dept. of Biomedical Engineering"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[{"id":"187116","name":"Shu Jia"},{"id":"177784","name":"biomedical imaging"},{"id":"7392","name":"microscopy"},{"id":"187117","name":"super-resolution optofluidic scanning microscopy"},{"id":"170154","name":"lab on a chip"},{"id":"187120","name":"Biagio Mandracchia"},{"id":"126571","name":"go-PetitInstitute"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:jstewart@gatech.edu\u0022\u003EJoshua Stewart\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nCommunications Manager\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["jstewart@gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}