News

Distinguished Lecture by Nobel Laureate Prof. Stefan Hell on Super-resolution Microscopy

The University Research Facility in Life Sciences (ULS) is co-organising with the Department of Applied Biology and Chemical Technology (ABCT) and the State Key Laboratory of Chemical Biology and Drug Discovery a Distinguished Lecture on Super-resolution Fluorescence Microscopy by Prof. Stefan Hell, Nobel Laureate in Chemistry 2014.   Prof. Hell is credited with having conceived, validated and applied the first viable concept for overcoming Abbe’s diffraction-limited resolution barrier in a light-focusing fluorescence microscope. He pioneered the stimulated emission depletion (STED) microscopy technique, which subsequently won him a 1/3 share of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2014 "for the development of super-resolved fluorescence microscopy".   The principle of STED is rather simple but truly optical. Fluorophores at the outer region of the excitation beam are “switched off” by a doughnut-shaped depletion beam. Thus, only signals at the centre of the excitation beam (which are sub-diffraction limit) are detected. STED allows researchers to achieve lateral resolution of 20 nm, which is a 10 times improvement over conventional confocal microscopy.   In this lecture, Prof. Hell will show how he has further improved diffraction-unlimited fluorescence microscopy and developed the novel MINFLUX technique, which has reached the resolution of the size of a single fluorophore molecule (i.e., 1-3 nm) in both fixed and living cells. In addition, Prof. Hell will demonstrate how MINFLUX and the related MINSTED technique would enable characterisation of dynamic processes at the single-protein level, and their potential applications in biomedical science. Details of the Distinguished Lecture are as follows:   Date: 15th November, 2024 (Friday) Time: 10:00 to 11:15 am (light refreshments will be provided from 9:30 am) Venue: V322, Jockey Club Innovation Tower Lecture title: Molecular-scale Resolution and Dynamics in Fluorescence Microscopy   Online registration is required for this lecture, and can be done on or before 6th November, 2024. If you have any queries, please contact Dr Michael Yuen of the ULS (Tel.: 3400 8788).

ULS Technology Webinar – New Development in 2D/3D Imaging – Combining Organ Imaging and Spatial Biology

You are cordially invited to attend the ULS technology webinar “New Development in 2D/3D Imaging – Combining Organ Imaging and Spatial Biology”. Details are as follows:   Title: New Development in 2D/3D Imaging – Combining Organ Imaging and Spatial Biology Date: 29 October 2024 (Tuesday) Time: 15:00 – 16:30 Speaker: Dr. Bernd Müller-Zülow (Executive Senior Expert – Imaging & Microscopy Business Development Miltenyi Biotec B.V. & Co. KG) Venue: Online, Microsoft Teams Teams Meeting ID: 412 396 501 072 Meeting Passcode: krh2oS Click here to join the meeting    Please refer to the attached poster for further information. Should you have any enquiries, please contact Dr. Ryan Chow All are welcome!  

New ULS Equipment - ThermoFisher Aquilos 2 Cryo-FIB System

The University Research Facility in Life Sciences (ULS) is pleased to announce that the ThermoFisher Aquilos 2 Cryo-Focused Ion Beam (FIB) System at our Cryo-EM Centre is now open to users.   The Aquilos 2 is a dual-beam system dedicated to the preparation of thin and electron-transparent lamellae for high-resolution cryo-electron tomography (cryo-ET) or microcrystal electron diffraction (MicroED) analysis of small molecules and proteins. Key features include:   Highly automated workflow: allows researchers to produce multiple lamellae from user-defined locations (Fig. 1) Improved cryo-hardware: enables longer run times (i.e., up to 8 hours) with ultra-low ice contamination EasyLift nano manipulator cryo-lift-out system: facilitates the preparation of lamellae from target regions within bulk-frozen specimens Site-specific extraction: capable of extracting regions (Fig. 2), including those from high-pressure frozen (HPF) samples, and loading them onto AutoGrids for further imaging with other cryo-TEM systems at our Cryo-EM Centre This advanced system enhances our capability to perform high-resolution cryo-ET analysis, providing researchers with the tools needed for cutting-edge molecular and protein studies. As a novel technology that connects cell biology and structural biology, cryo-ET can help researchers visualise the macromolecular structure and inner architecture within cells in situ.   The ULS cordially invites research groups engaged in bacteria or cell biology research to discuss with us the possibility of arranging pilot test sessions with their samples. The ideal sample shall be smaller than 5 µm. Interested parties shall direct their enquiries on test sessions or the equipment to Sirui Li or Michael Yuen of the ULS.   Thank you for your attention.

ULS Technology Seminar - Exploring Advanced Immunology with High Parameter Flow Cytometry Panels

The University Research Facility in Life Sciences (ULS) is co-organizing a seminar on the High Parameter Flow Cytometry Panels with Bio-Gene. This seminar will be focused on three advanced high-parameter flow cytometry panels, including a comprehensive 22-color Broad Immunophenotyping Panel designed to profile various immune cells such as T cells, B cells, NK cells, Macrophages, and Dendritic Cells in mouse tissue.   The details of the upcoming seminar are as follow:   Title: Exploring Advanced Immunology with High Parameter Flow Cytometry Panels   Date: 27th Sept 2024 (Friday)   Time: 4:00 pm – 5:00 pm   Location: Y303   Speaker: Dr. Martina Lei (Postdoctoral Fellow, ABCT); Ms. Gloria Chan (Sr. Product Specialist, BD Biosciences Hong Kong)   Should you have any enquiries, please contact Dr. Rachel Li or Dr. Ryan Chow.   All are welcome!   Thank you for your attention.

ULS Newsletter (11th Issue)

The 11th issue of the ULS newsletter has been issued. Please click the image below to view it online.   In this issue, we continue with our cryo-electron microscopy series and feature the single-particle analysis (SPA) technique that allows researchers to solve protein structures at near-atomic resolution.   Thank you for your support.

New ULS equipment - Refeyn Two Mass Photometer

The University Research Facility in Life Sciences (ULS) is pleased to announce that the Refeyn Two Mass Photometer is now available for booking. This new equipment applies light scattering-based technique to measure the molecular mass of biomacromolecules, e.g., proteins and DNAs, in their native state. It enables highly sensitive, rapid, and lable-free molecular mass measurement and is suitable for a wide range of applications, such as study of protein-protein interactions, determination of protein oligomerization states,  assessment of sample purity, etc.   If you have any queries about the Refeyn Two Mass Photometer, please do not hesitate to contact Dr So Pui-Kin or Dr Wang Chenyin of the ULS.   Thank you for your attention.

Updates on the ULS Equipment Charging Scheme and Payment Methods on URFMS

The University Research Facility in Life Sciences (ULS) will be updating our equipment charging scheme with effect from 8th April, 2024. Discounts will continue to be offered to internal research groups with monthly usage exceeding HK$5,000 (10% discount) or HK$10,000 (20% discount).   On the other hand, with immediate effect, users are encouraged to use real funding accounts (i.e., project accounts on PGMS) for equipment reservation. The current ULS virtual payment sources (i.e., ULS-DEPT-TAIMANCHAN-001) shall only be used as backup, in case the PGMS accounts and/or allocated balances have insufficient fund. Equipment reservation using PGMS funding accounts will be processed automatically via internal fund transfer, while that using virtual accounts will be billed monthly using invoices. For more details, please refer to our guidelines for internal users or supervisors.   If you have any queries, please do not hesitate to contact our staff.   Thank you for your attention.

Results for ULS Survey 2023

The University Research Facility in Life Sciences (ULS) has conducted surveys for users and PIs to evaluate the quality of service provided by the ULS in 2023. The surveys have ended last month and the reports are available via these links: Survey for Users, Survey for PIs. Note that in the last part of the reports you can find the ULS’s response to the respondents’ comments.   On the other hand, 20 survey participants were randomly selected to each receive 2 hours of free equipment usage for their laboratories in March. The result has been announced on the ULS Facebook Page.   If you have any queries about the survey, please do not hesitate to contact Dr Michael Yuen. Thank you for your attention.

ULS Training Session - The Refeyn Two Mass Photometer

The University Research Facility in Life Sciences (ULS) has just acquired a Refeyn Two Mass Photometer , which applies light scattering-based technique to measure the molecular mass of biomacromolecules, e.g., proteins and DNAs, in their native state. This equipment enables highly sensitive, rapid, and lable-free molecular mass measurement and is suitable for a wide range of applications, such as study of protein-protein interactions, determination of protein oligomerization states, assessment of sample purity, etc (refer to the attached brochure for more information).   There will be a hand-on training session(s) provided by the supplier on 27-Feb (Tue). We would like to invite TEN students/colleagues to join the training and each research group might assign ONE member to attend. One or multiple sessions in the morning and afternoon may be held, depending on the number of registered trainees.   Because of the hand-on nature of the training and lab space limitation, quota is limited to TEN and registration will be on first-come-first-served basis. If you are interested in attending the training, please provide me your name, department, and supervisor information and indicate your preference on morning/afternoon session by this Friday (23-Feb) noon.   Should you have any enquiries, please feel free to contact Dr. So Pui-Kin (Email: bckin@polyu.edu.hk, Tel: 34008797).

ULS Seminar - New Developments in High-speed and Super-resolved Fluorescence Microscopy for Life Sciences

The University Research Facility in Life Sciences (ULS) is co-organising a seminar with Chinetek Scientific on the recent development in spinning disk confocal microscopy and structured illumination microscopy (SIM).  The focus will be on exploring the diverse range of applications that derive significant benefits from these imaging modalities.  Attendees will have the opportunity to learn from real-case examples presented by scientists working in the fields of high-content screening, spatial biology, live cell imaging, and volumetric imaging.  Details of the seminar are as follows: Date: 1st February, 2024 (Thursday) Time: 10:30 to 11:30 am Venue: Y715, Lee Shau Kee Building (Block Y) Speaker: Dr Carlo Brighi, Application Specialist, CrestOptics   Registration is not required for this seminar but seating will be on a first-come-first-served basis.  Please contact Dr Harvey Chan of the ULS if you have any queries about the seminar.   Thank you for your attention.