
University of Barcelona licences a technology to market super-resolution microscope
The University of Barcelona has reached an agreement with an international firm to licence technology that will allow it to market a super-resolution microscope that can capture images at twice the resolution of standard microscopes.
After months of testing and advancing development of the prototype, which has been granted patents for most major markets, the UB company has executed a licence agreement so the company can market the super-resolution microscope in the near future.
Dr Mario Montes, professor in the UB Faculty of Physics, says it is “highly satisfying” to know that the technology will reach the market. “In academia, we focus on fundamental issues or the early stages of development. And it’s very satisfying to see that you can develop technology that companies are interested in and that they want to invest in creating a tool people will buy and use. We’re very happy because many cell biologists will be able to get this device and use it for their research and to study their samples.”
A revolution in microscopy
The UB Biophotonics research group has been working to develop an advanced prototype of a SIM (structured illumination microscopy) super-resolution microscope that uses lasers to illuminate biological samples, structuring the light and modifying it to obtain images with twice the resolution of most microscopes currently in use.
“Microscopy has always had a huge impact on the life sciences and people’s wellbeing. In the past 20 years, microscopy has undergone a total revolution and there is a very large, interesting market,” notes Dr Montes. And he adds, “Super-resolution microscopy can see on the molecular level of a cell, which we didn’t have access to before. And reaching a molecular scale, you can see when a cell doesn’t work and will end up developing a disease.”
That’s why Dr Montes believes it is essential to transfer the knowledge to society, which can be achieved through the deal signed with the company. “We’ve been working on research projects in this field for years. The Bosch i Gimpera Foundation team helped us get funding to valorise a line of research we thought could have commercial applications. Thanks to this funding, we’ve been able to validate the technology to transfer it. When we do research, the idea is always to transfer it to a company that will turn it into a product available to society,” concludes Dr Montes.