IRELAND IS one of the few countries in the world to have a microscope able to take pictures of individual atoms. Another microscope here can take images showing how cancer cells hide from the immune system.
These exceptional imaging tools and several others have been installed in the Advanced Microscopy Laboratory, a world-class facility in Dublin run by Crann, the Trinity College Dublin and University College Cork-based nanoscience research institute.
The lab and its equipment required an investment of €12 million, said Crann director Prof John Boland. Minister of State Dara Calleary formally launched the centre yesterday. The 557sq m lab includes a transmission electron microscope, a helium ion microscope and a focused ion beam among other devices.
These facilities are a shared asset and are available to all researchers from academia and from industry, Prof Boland said. Funding for the lab comes from Science Foundation Ireland and from the Programme for Research in Third Level Institutions run by the Higher Education Authority.
Crann conducts nanotechnology research, studies of objects measured in nanometres or a millionth of a millimetre across. Many industries are interested in microscopic imaging of surfaces or new materials and producing the very small electrical connections used in modern computers, Prof Boland said.
For this reason the new lab will allow Ireland to compete internationally for private sector research funding and helps Ireland attract more foreign direct investment, Prof Boland added.
There was a strong focus on working with industry, both on fundamental research and to help deliver new electronic and medical devices arising from nanotech research.
The lab also serves as a major training centre for nanotech research with students using the specialist imaging tools there.