UCLA´s Dr. Hong Zhou Breaks Resolution Barrier: Achieves Atomic Resolution of Viruses Using an FEI Cryo-Electron Microscope

 Dr. Zhou’s Work Provides Valuable Insight for Structural Biology and Pharmaceutical Drug Discovery

HILLSBORO, Ore., May 4, 2010 (GlobeNewswire via COMTEX News Network) — FEI Company (Nasdaq:FEIC), a leading scientific instrumentation company providing electron microscopy systems for nanoscale applications across many industries, today announced that Dr. Hong Zhou of the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) and the California NanoSystems Institute (CNSI) has achieved atomic resolution of viruses in solution for the first time ever recorded using a Titan Krios(TM) transmission electron microscope (TEM). The paper was published as a cover-feature in Cell ( www.cell.com ), April 30, 2010, Zhang et al., 3.3 Angstrom Cryo-EM Structure of a Non-enveloped Virus Reveals a Priming Mechanism for Cell Entry, Cell (2010), doi: 10.1016/j.cell.2010.03.041.

“We are extremely excited about the recent breakthrough achieved by Hong Zhou and his team at the Electron Imaging Center for NanoMachines (EICN),” said Dr. Leonard H. Rome, senior associate dean for research of UCLA’s David Geffen School of Medicine and associate director of the California NanoSystems Institute. “The ability to understand the structure of viruses at an atomic level will open avenues for manipulating them for use in drug delivery and propel numerous innovations in treatments of diseases. UCLA is fortunate to have such specialized instrumentation, and the expertise of Professor Zhou and his team to take advantage of these marvelous microscopes.”

According to Dr. Wah Chiu, professor of biochemistry and molecular biology at Houston-based Baylor College of Medicine, and one of the pioneers in the application of electron microscopy in the life sciences, “Dr. Zhou’s work shows sensational structural results using single particle cryo-electron microscopy to resolve detailed protein structure in a large virus. This was thought to be impossible by many experts not long ago.”

Traditional techniques, such as x-ray crystallography and NMR imaging, are capable of determining molecular structures, but usually as isolated structures and not in a cellular or physiological context. Viruses and many proteins can be difficult to crystallize, particularly those in a metastable form, so their structure cannot be obtained using x-ray crystallography. The Titan Krios was designed to overcome these challenges to enable atomic resolution imaging.

“This is a tremendous scientific accomplishment, and we are excited for Dr. Hong Zhou and his team at the CNSI at UCLA,” stated Dominique Hubert, FEI’s vice president and general manager for the Life Sciences Division. “It demonstrates that the FEI Vitrobot(TM) and Titan Krios TEM can be used as a workflow solution to uniquely identify atomic structures within a cell in its native hydrated state and to better understand their function.”

The Titan Krios is a high-resolution, 3D imaging solution that is specifically designed to image biological structures down to the molecular, and now, atomic level in structural biology applications. Its integrated cryogenic sample handling robotics offers automation, and the solution permits a full range of high-resolution and 3D techniques including: cryo-electron microscopy; single-particle analysis; and dual-axis tomography of frozen, hydrated samples, such as viruses and molecular machines. The Vitrobot is a specimen preparation device used for plunge-freezing samples when their true colloidal structure needs to be viewed.

An interview with Dr. Zhou can be viewed at: www.fei.com/cell

About EICN

Seeing molecules, materials, and molecular machines at atomic resolution and in three dimensions is critical to nanoscience. In order to facilitate this, the Electron Imaging Center for Nanomachines (EICN) was established at the California NanoSystems Institute (CNSI) through a major instrumentation grant from NIH and support from UCLA. EICN provides advanced electron imaging tools for a broad range of research, covering a scale range from tens of micrometers to angstroms, and delivering valuable structural information for cell biology, microbiology, biomolecular, molecular, and materials sciences. For more information, please visit: www.eicn.ucla.edu

About FEI

FEI (Nasdaq:FEIC) is a leading diversified scientific instruments company. It is a premier provider of electron and ion-beam microscopes and tools for nanoscale applications across many industries: industrial and academic materials research, life sciences, semiconductors, data storage, natural resources and more. With a 60-year history of technological innovation and leadership, FEI has set the performance standard in transmission electron microscopes (TEM), scanning electron microscopes (SEM) and DualBeams(TM), which combine a SEM with a focused ion beam (FIB). FEI’s imaging systems provide 3D characterization, analysis and modification/prototyping with resolutions down to the sub-Angstrom (one-tenth of a nanometer) level. FEI’s NanoPorts in North America, Europe and Asia provide centers of technical excellence where its world-class community of customers and specialists collaborate. FEI has approximately 1800 employees and sales and service operations in more than 50 countries around the world. More information can be found at: www.fei.com

FEI Safe Harbor Statement
This news release contains forward-looking statements that include statements regarding the performance capabilities and benefits of the Titan Krios TEM and FEI Vitrobot. Factors that could affect these forward-looking statements include but are not limited to failure of the product or technology to perform as expected and achieve anticipated results, unexpected technology problems and our ability to manufacture, ship and deliver the tools as expected. Please also refer to our Form 10-K, Forms 10-Q, Forms 8-K and other filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for additional information on these factors and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements. FEI assumes no duty to update forward-looking statements.

This news release was distributed by GlobeNewswire, www.globenewswire.com

SOURCE: FEI Company