From environmental microbiology to drug discovery...

Click on any of the application examples listed below to learn more:

Microbiology

- Ecophysiology of anaerobic phototrophic bacteria: ¹⁵N and ¹³C uptake

Cell biology

- Protein turnover in structural elements of the cochlea

NanoSIMS: opening new perspectives in life sciences...

The CAMECA NanoSIMS is a unique ion microprobe providing multicollection of up to seven masses and 50nm lateral resolution. It opens new perspectives in various fields of life science such as: 

• Simultaneous single cell phylogenic identification and metabolic activity measurement in environmental microbiology,
• Protein renewal at cellular or intra-cellular level in medical field,
• Localization of molecules labeled with rare elements or isotopes at cellular or intra-cellular level in pharmacology...

Most of these applications are based on the images of the distribution and measurement of the accumulation of several molecules labeled with different stable isotopes (e.g. 15N, 13C, 2H, 18O, 33S, 74Se, ...). Multiple labeling can be used on different or on the same molecules.
Multiple Isotope Imaging Mass Spectrometry (MIMS) offers a novel, powerful and quantitative technique for studying intra- and transcellular metabolic pathways, signal transduction, cytoplasmic and nucleo-cytoplasmic translocations, RNA and DNA expression and distribution, vesicular and non-vesicular trafficking, virus penetration, and localization of drugs. 

For more details on MIMS, we highly recommend the web site of the National Resource for Imaging Mass Spectrometry (http://www.nrims.hms.harvard.edu/), one of the most useful source of information on the topic, regularly updated with new publications and reports.

You may also read through the selection of publications by NanoSIMS users in the fields of cell and microbiology.