Four ageing confocal microscopes at the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Cambridge are being retired because their manufacturer can no longer supply spare parts or update their software, and a single new point-scanning confocal microscope with super-resolution capability is needed to replace them. These instruments are workhorses of biological research, letting scientists track multiple molecules inside living cells in three dimensions. The new microscope’s Airyscan detector doubles the usual resolution, revealing details as small as 120 nanometres—enough to see how proteins and other molecules are arranged inside cells. Without a replacement, researchers at the LMB would lose access to a core tool for understanding the fundamental biology of disease. The impact is practical and immediate: the new microscope safeguards future discoveries, cuts spending on service contracts for obsolete equipment, reduces energy use, and trains users on modern hardware. The old microscope stands will be repurposed for other roles in the lab, generating additional savings. This is an infrastructure investment in fundamental science—the kind that, over the LMB’s 50-year history, has led to breakthroughs such as DNA sequencing and humanised monoclonal antibodies that now treat chronic diseases worldwide.
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The Laboratory of Molecular Biology (LMB) in Cambridge is an intramural MRC institute with a long history of excellence in fundamental research. Over the last 50 years the LMB’s researchers have made countless discoveries that have had tangible benefits for the health of millions of people in the UK and worldwide, from the sequencing of DNA to the development of humanised monoclonal antibodies as now used to treat a range of chronic diseases. The LMB offers an exceptional environment for both emerging and established researchers, with cutting-edge facilities and a distinctive scientific culture. It has a longstanding commitment to diversity, with a truly global perspective. We currently employ staff from over 50 countries, and our alumni can be found in research institutions around the world. Research at the LMB relies upon many different laboratory techniques and instruments to make progress. Of these, light microscopy is an invaluable tool with a long and distinguished record of discoveries that have led to better understanding of biology of disease and to improvements in human health. To ensure fullest access to researchers and to enable the greatest scientific impact many sophisticated and technically advanced microscopes are housed in the LMB Light Microscopy Facility. The Light Microscopy Facility is requesting funding for a point scanning confocal microscope with super-resolution imaging capabilities. This microscope will meet an urgent need for an instrument having state of the art imaging capabilities thus supporting leading edge research for many years into the future. The circumstance driving this application is the end of service life of four confocal microscopes which have been in use for up to 16 years within the lab. Their manufacturer no longer guarantees that they can supply all parts needed to repair them. The software used to control these highly complex systems is no longer updated. There is no sensible upgrade path available for this legacy equipment. Enforced retirement of these instruments will have a negative impact upon research at the lab. The confocal microscope requested, specified for use within a facility is a state-of-the-art instrument and a mainstay of biological research due to its very broad flexibility of use in terms of the range of sample types that it can be used with and the highly adaptable manner in which imaging can be configured. The system has many features and operating modes. It is capable of multichannel imaging to follow multiple molecules of interest within live samples. The microscope also has an Airyscan detector that permits imaging at a resolution beyond that normally achievable in light microscopy. Up to a two-fold improvement is possible with detail at the 120nm level being resolvable. This more precise knowledge of the spatial localisation and distribution of different molecules in the 3D context reveals information about how particular biological processes work. The overall aims of this application are to provide research scientists at the LMB with a latest generation point scanning confocal microscope to enable future excellence in research and to retire 4 existing confocal microscopes that are at the end of their service life. In doing so we will realise numerous benefits including safeguarding future research, reduction of expenditure on service contracts, reduction of energy use and the upskilling our microscope users. Re-purposing microscope stands for other roles within the lab will result in additional cost savings
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