MRI Microscopy Provides Advance in Molecular Structures Imaging

This technique brings MRI capability to the nanoscale level for the first time, and represents a major landmark in the quest to construct a microscope that could visualize individual atoms in three dimensions, according to researchers.

Utilizing MR force microscopy (MFRM), researchers from IBM at its Almaden Research Center (San Jose, CA, USA) have demonstrated two-dimensional (2D) imaging of objects as small as 90 nanometers, a major advancement on the path of 3D imaging at the atomic scale. Such imaging could ultimately provide a better understanding of how proteins function, which in turn, may lead to more efficient drug discovery and development.

MFRM provides imaging sensitivity that is 60,000 times better than traditional MRI technology. MFRM uses what is known as force detection to overcome the sensitivity limitations of conventional MRI to view structures that would otherwise be too small to be detected.

To achieve this, the research team developed specialized magnetic tips for their microscope, optimizing their ability to manipulate and detect the extremely weak magnetism of atomic nuclei. Conventional medical MRI characteristically operates on a scale at least 1,000 times coarser; even the most specialized MRI microscopy is limited to approximately 3 µm micrometers (3,000 nm).

This accomplishment could ultimately have major impact on the study of materials--ranging from proteins and pharmaceuticals to integrated circuits-- for which a detailed determination of the atomic structure is crucial. Knowing the precise location of specific atoms within tiny nanoelectronic structures, for example, would enhance designers' insight into manufacture and performance. The ability to directly image the exact atomic structure of proteins would help the development of new drugs.

The investigators published their findings in the April 2007 issue of the journal Nature Nanotechnology.


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