NanoImaging Services, has opened a new facility close to its San Diego headquarters.
The new data collection centre will be the largest private facility for cryoEM data collection globally, says the company, and will serve both national and international clients.
Designed to be a data collection farm, this new facility will host up to four Thermo Scientific Krios Cryo-TEM microscopes, equipped with the Gatan K3 detector and Gatan Quantum energy filter, plus a Thermo Scientific Glacios Cryo-TEM microscope for grid screening. An ultra-high speed, dedicated data line will connect it directly to the San Diego headquarters and Boston client centre, so users can work directly with the NIS microscopists and view images in real-time with the company’s remote image viewer. The first Thermo Scientific Krios at the new facility has already been commissioned and is heavily booked through the end of 2020. A new, formal agreement between NIS and Thermo Scientific will allow the company to add more capacity with minimal lead time.
One of the major hurdles to cryoEM for many researchers is finding affordable, reliable access to high-end microscopes for high-resolution data collection. By establishing a bank of Thermo Scientific Krios microscopes, NanoImaging Services aims to guarantee microscope access for extended data collection sessions through its partnership programs or on-demand access through its standby program. The ability to house multiple microscopes in one location will also help lower overheads, reduce maintenance costs and minimise downtime, contributing to the company’s continuing efforts to make cryoEM more affordable and accessible.
“Together, the coupling of this new infrastructure with industry-leading flexible service models, continues to break down many of the barriers to entry for industry groups of all sizes to participate in the “resolution revolution.” said Clint Potter, founder and CEO of NanoImaging Services. “The new facility supports the continued growth of our company and underlines our commitment to advancing cryoEM technology and access. We are excited to leverage our increased microscope capacity to serve new and existing customers around the world, as well as help more researchers develop their own cryoEM project pipelines.”
The rapid development in cryoEM technology has established the technique as an essential tool for application in structure-based drug discovery, but also highlighted its relevance throughout the drug development pipeline in areas such as antibody development, virus and vaccine studies, characterisation of drug delivery vehicles and biopharmaceutical QA/QC.
