Harvard Licenses CARS Microscopy to Carl Zeiss MicroImaging

May 23, 2007 - Harvard University’s Office of Technology Development (OTD) and Carl Zeiss MicroImaging GmbH, a global leader in the optical and opto-electronic industries, today announced that Harvard has licensed its CARS microscopy technology to Carl Zeiss MicroImaging for use in the company's confocal and multiphoton microscopes, to expand the power of optical microscopes used to image molecules in living cells and organisms.
Coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering (CARS) microscopy, developed in the lab of Xiaoliang Sunney Xie, Ph.D., professor of Chemistry and Chemical Biology at Harvard University, allows rapid and nonperturbative imaging of biological specimens with chemical selectivity. The method reportedly offers much higher time resolution than other vibrational imaging techniques, allowing "movies” of biological activity and chemical processes to be taken within a living cell or organisms.
“Carl Zeiss thoroughly screens for all technologies that promise to put its customers research into a leading position. Professor Xie and his group at Harvard University have pioneered CARS microscopy in a very impressive way. Licensing this technology will allow us to add another highly efficient research tool to our advanced microscopy portfolio,” said Dr. Ulrich Simon, president and CEO of Carl Zeiss MicroImaging GmbH.