Trinity College Dublin now has Ireland’s first and only microscope, which will allow researchers to take giant steps in the areas of inflammation, cancer, development biology and biomedical material, among others.
Cellular and tissue mechanics are powerful regulators of the disease, dysfunction and regeneration and their understanding is therefore the focus of biomedical researchers. But existing methods are invasive and limited to the information they can provide.
However, the incredible new brillouin microscope can map and quantify the compressibility, viscosity and detailed mechanics of materials and biological tissues, using non -invasive light. This allows researchers to evaluate the mechanical properties of living systems (such as cells and tissues) without interfering with them, allowing them to monitor a system and how it changes over time. It is based on the spread of light by the result of the interactions between a light photon and the acoustic phonemes of a material, which are influenced by the mechanical properties of the material.
With the support of the European Research Council (ERC) and Irish research, the Brillouin Microscopy System has been installed in Professor Michael Monaghan’s workshop at the Trinity School of Engineering, where it is housed in the Trinity Trinity Center at the Institute of Biomedical Sciences Trinity.
” Being the first trading system in the world, we have huge technical support from the seller, Cellsense Technologies GmbH, with which we have worked closely to acquire the system on the ground. Our success is their success, “said Professor Monaghan, who contributes to an expert consent document published today in the leading international journal Nature Photonics.
This statement brings together the know -how of international experts in the application of Brillouin microscopy in biomedical applications.
Studying the mechanical properties of living systems is extremely relevant in the myriad areas and promises to allow the jumps forward to our understanding of ways in which inflammation and cancer grow, for example.
However, it is also important to understand its use is not limited to biomedical research and related applications – it will help scientists to push the limits even more into areas such as material science, ICT, energy storage, medicinal products and medical products and diagnostics. This innovative equipment will help us promote border science and we predict that scientists will travel from all over the world to use it – we have welcomed some already. “
Professor Michael Monaghan, School of Engineering in Trinity
Source:
Magazine report:
Bouvet, p., et al. (2025). Consensus statement on microscopy Brillouin Light. Photon of nature. Doi.org/10.1038/S41566-025-01681-6.
