New microscope "sees" supermicrostructures in living cells

Japanese researchers have recently used the newly developed microscope to observe for the first time in the world the very tiny organs such as mitochondria in living cells.

Researchers at Japan's Atomic Energy Research and Development Agency and Nara Women's University said that the new microscope they jointly developed is called "laser plasma soft X-ray microscopy." It uses electromagnetic waves with wavelengths shorter than ultraviolet rays but longer than X-rays. "Soft X-rays "Without the use of fluorescent substances, tiny structures of 90 nanometers (one nanometer is one billionth of a meter) can be observed.

In principle, the resolution of an optical microscope can only reach several hundred nanometers at most, and it is impossible to observe the mitochondria that generate the energy required for cell activity. Although electron microscopes have high definition, they can only observe dehydrated and dead cells. The "soft X-ray" has a feature that it is difficult to be absorbed by water and can observe living cells with moisture.

The researchers fired a high-intensity laser to the surface of the gold foil to create a plasma, creating a "soft X-ray." The mitochondria were then photographed by "soft X-rays" illuminating the cells cultured on the photosensitive material for 0.6 nanoseconds (a nanosecond is a billionth of a second).

The new research results will be formally published at an international symposium held in the United States on August 21. Japanese researcher atomic energy research and development agency Kadao Yaxiao said that this is a "dream microscope" that can see the internal changes in cells and is expected to be used in cancer research and other fields.