Collaborative Research Centre 755 - Nanoscale Photonic Imaging - INF (CRC 755, German: SFB 755)

Project Goals

By increasing the resolution and combining spectroscopic information with imaging in the nanometer range, a deeper insight into complex biomolecular structures can be gained than with conventional display methods, thereby expanding the current knowledge.

The increase in resolution and the combination of nanoscale imaging with spectroscopic data enable the investigation of nanoscale biomolecular and complex fluid systems under functionally relevant environmental parameters. New methods are being developed to visualize macromolecular trajectories in aqueous solution and in living cells, to reconstruct native density distribution in cells and tissues, or to show intermolecular interactions by forces and chemical compositions far beyond the conventional resolution limits. The research areas include optical microscopy beyond the diffraction limit, multi-dimensional microscopy, spectroscopy with high spatial and temporal resolution, x-ray optics and X-ray imaging, lensless imaging, time-dependent X-ray scattering, data reconstruction and inverse optical problems. In the second funding period (1 February 2011 - 31 January 2015), the intensive interaction of the experimental projects with mathematical projects had strong synergies both on developments in the optics as well as on mathematical methods. In addition, computer simulations of biomolecular dynamics are used to connect photon-based experimental data to atomistic models.

The CRC 755 is subdivided into four project groups

  • A - visible light beyond borders
  • B - Spectromicroscopy of complex fluids
  • C - X-ray optics and image
  • INF - Creating a common infrastructure for online tools

Several subprojects deal with increasing the dimensionality of the imaging scheme on three dimensions. The 3D X-ray tomography approach in the nanoparticle is to be extended to time-resolved (4D) studies. The image quality is to be expanded by increasing spectroscopic information. The improved imaging methods provide new opportunities for research, such as imaging the exact stoichiometry of molecules.

Role of the GWDG

The INF project is the responsibility of the GWDG in cooperation with the Department of X-Ray Physics at the University of Göttingen. The primary goal of the INF project is the sustainable publication of the algorithmic methods developed in the SFB. Numerical methods for processing and analyzing photonic nano images are extremely important for a wide variety of research directions, e.g. Optical nanoscopy, X-ray imaging including tomography.

Within the INF project, a common infrastructure for online tools (interactive web pages, Java applets, etc.) is set up, which makes the developed tools available to a broad community. Internal services for the SFB 755 include workshops on project management as well as exchange of source codes and data.

Project Partners

Institute of the Georg-August-University Göttingen

Laser-Laboratorium Göttingen e.V.

Max-Planck-Institut für biophysikalische Chemie, Göttingen

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Contact

Dr. Ulrich Schwardmann
Fatih Berber

E-Mail

Duration

01.02.2015 - 31.01.2019
(3. funding period)

Website

SFB 755

Funding

Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft. Funding agreement No.: SFB 755/3

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