Another challenge of mechanobiology is tissue functioning and dynamics. Sarcomeres are the basic structural and functional units of muscle tissue. These contractile units are essential for muscle contraction and play a crucial role in determining the structure and function of muscle tissue.
A better understanding of the localization and interactions of the muscle tissue components is crucial to shed light on fundamental mechanisms of muscle contraction and muscle-related disorders.
Sarcomeres are nanoscale structures, and visualizing them without high spatial and temporal resolution is challenging. Moreover, sarcomeres do not function in isolation but interact with various cellular components, including ion channels, mitochondria, and the extracellular matrix. Studying these interactions can be challenging and requires nanometer-range localization precision and multicolor imaging.
The Abbelight SAFe MN180 system allows super-resolution dual-color imaging at 15nm localization precision. Abbelight’s SmartKit for sample imaging guarantees optimal blinking efficiency to obtain the best-quality results and excellent separation of subcellular structures, such as sarcomeres. Elongated cells like muscle cells can be imaged entirely thanks to the ASTER technology, resulting in the largest field of view available on the market. Additionally, the NEO software provides a preview of the reconstructed image during the acquisition, allowing on-the-fly assessment of the sample quality.