Thermo Fisher Scientific, the world leader in serving science, recently deployed the state-of-the-art cryo-transmission electron microscope at the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB), Hyderabad, Telangana. The facility was inaugurated by Dr Shekhar Mande, Director-General, Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR).

Thermo Fisher’s cutting-edge cryo electron microscopes support advanced research and help scientists accelerate potential cures, drug discoveries and diagnostics research. The facility will be accessible to researchers in CCMB, other CSIR labs as well as researchers from other institutes, universities, pharma and biotech companies in the country.

Thermo Fisher solutions deployed at the new facility also feature a suite of automation and sample-handling technology, increasing ease of use and ensuring the maximum amount of high-quality data that can be collected for each sample.

“Cryo-EM has revolutionized structural investigations of macromolecules in recent times. The installation of cryo-electron microscopes will help CCMB to explore macromolecular structures, create research knowledge base and skills for cryo-EM research in India. It will facilitate groundbreaking research and establish leadership in structural biology, enzymology, and drug discovery”, said Amit Chopra, managing director, India and South Asia, Thermo Fisher Scientific.

The new facility’s technology will enable researchers to work with samples at cryogenic temperatures, at around -173C0, and image individual molecules. In addition to the confocal microscopy, NMR spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction facilities at CCMB, the addition of cryo-electron microscopy makes it a remarkable facility for researchers to investigate details of living cells like never before.