Dr George McKerr with the world's first cryo-dualbeam nanolab microscope, housed at the University's new Centre for Advanced Imaging

The mysteries of how viruses invade cells, how drugs work at the molecular level, and how nanoparticles affect our bodies are being revealed at a new world-leading research facility at the University's of Ulster's Coleraine campus.

The £1.3m FEI Centre for Advanced Imaging on the campus is bristling with pioneering microscope technology available nowhere else in the world.

That’s why leading global companies like Unilever Research are already beating a path to the campus to benefit from the uniquely powerful analytical and technological expertise that has been assembled at the new Centre, funded by a grant from the UK Science Research Investment Fund (SRIF).

At the heart of the Centre’s research arsenal are two specially constructed microscopes:

• the world’s first cryo-dualbeam microscope – combining a focused ion beam microscope with a scanning electron microscope.

• a unique atomic force/confocal microscope hybrid.

Dr. George McKerr, Director of the new Centre for Advanced Imaging, said, “This is the full realisation of four years work. I am delighted to have the support of FEI who are an imaginative company as well as being world leaders in this instrumentation.

“Four years ago I brought FEI an idea and they very quickly turned that into a prototype. This idea for an ultra-low temperature microscope which is essentially a small scale workshop where cells, virus particles and large molecules can be machined and manipulated, has attracted a lot of interest.

“We are now very well equipped (SRIF III) and funded (FEI development grant) to help develop nanobiology both within the province and in collaboration with industrial partners overseas.

“The Centre at Coleraine will become a reference lab for this type of work throughout Europe and we intend to do something rather special to help local industry and start-up companies. Watch this space.”

The new microscopes installed at the Centre are so powerful they can enable researchers to see single atoms, and create 3D images of them in action.

Using these tools, scientists can analyse and manipulate particles at atomic and intra-nuclear levels –and their movements and effects can be recorded in 3D and real time.

Professor Vyvyan Howard, Head of the University’s Bioimaging Reserch Group, said that the pioneering technology of the new Centre would enable the University of Ulster to become a world leader in ensuring the safety of the next generation of nanotechnology products.

“We intend to be recognised as one of the world centres of excellence for investigating nanoparticle toxicology – and we think there will be a lot more work to do in the coming years because every single product which is brought out containing free nanoparticles will have to undergo a toxicological safety assessment. Funding brought in within the last few months means that the new Centre will have five highly qualified research scientists working full time.”

The microscope technology for the new Centre has been developed in association with the FEI Company the U.S-based supplier of electron microscopy tools for nanoscale research, development and commercialisation.

The development was also welcomed by Lord Sainsbury of Turville, Minister for Science and Innovation, who said: “I congratulate Ulster University and its partners for their world-class work in this field and am confident this new centre will help them continue to lead the way in this area.

“The UK Government has spent more than £3bn rebuilding university science facilities to ensure that our scientists have state-of-the-art resources to assist them to continue to be global leaders in science.”

“We are very pleased to have FEI as our microscopy partner for the university’s new Centre for Advanced Imaging,” commented Professor Stephen Downes, director of the Biomedical Research Institute. “The advanced performance of these systems and their flexibility will truly enable the centre to meet the demanding challenges faced by users and serve the multidisciplinary focus of the centre and our partners in the region.”

Rob Fastenau, senior vice president of FEI’s NanoResearch and Industry and NanoBiology market divisions and senior executive for FEI in Europe said: “The University of Ulster should prove to be an important force in accelerating breakthroughs in nanoscience--the development of new nano-enabled technologies. We look forward to working with the centre for many years to come.”


For further information contact:
David Young,
Press Officer, University of Ulster, 028 90368390


Notes for Editors:

About FEI
FEI’s Tools for Nanotech™, featuring focused ion- and electron-beam technologies, deliver 3D characterization, analysis and modification capabilities with resolution down to the nanometre level and provide innovative solutions for customers working in NanoBiology, NanoResearch and NanoElectronics.

With R&D centres in North America and Europe, and sales and service operations in more than 50 countries around the world, FEI is bringing the nanoscale within the grasp of leading researchers and manufacturers and helping to turn some of the biggest ideas of this century into reality. More information can be found on the FEI website at: www.fei.com.


About the University of Ulster

Established in 1984, the University of Ulster is the largest university on the island of Ireland, With four campuses and 30,000 students, it is recognised as a leader in biomedical sciences, business and management education and technology transfer activity. Over 1,500 academic staff give the University of Ulster a strong profile in research, teaching and learning, and knowledge transfer innovation.

Further information from http://www.ulster.ac.uk.

For further information, please contact:

David Young
Telephone: 028 90366074
Email: David Young