News and Press Releases

March 7, 2022

Novel imaging method sheds light on brain tissue swelling

Researchers combine rapidFLIM with high resolution multi-photon excitation

In a recently published paper, researchers at the Institute of Neurobiology at Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf (Germany) have reported on a novel imaging method they developed in collaboration with colleagues from the University of Bonn (Germany) and PicoQuant. The method combines PicoQuant’s rapidFLIM approach – which allows recording fluorescence lifetime images at unprecedented speeds and temporal resolution – with multi-photon microscopy, offering high spatial resolution in the intact, highly scattering brain tissue.

Thanks to this combination, the researchers were able to depict in real time the changes that occur when nerve cells are deprived of energy. They discovered that a breakdown in cellular energy supply – one of the most critical events during a stroke – leads to a rapid increase in sodium concentration inside of the cell and to subsequent swelling. A major discovery of this study is that a previously unknown mechanism involving TRPV4 ion channels plays a key role in the fatal sodium influx.

Link to publication: https://www.jneurosci.org/content/42/4/552/tab-article-info

March 3, 2022

PicoQuant employees raise 20.000 EUR to support Ukrainian refugees

In a spontaneous action, employees of PicoQuant, Berlin, have raised more than 20.000 Euro to show sympathy and provide financial support to the Ukrainian people suffering from the war in Ukraine. Within just two days, employees contributed more than 10.000 Euro out of their own pockets and PicoQuant doubled this sum.

“Our thoughts are with the Ukrainian people. We want to help financially to overcome our feelings of help- und voicelessness.” says Mariola Axmann, responsible for Human Ressources at PicoQuant.

PicoQuant donates the funds to Aktion Deutschland Hilft. “I am overwhelmed by emotions, firstly because of the humanitarian catastrophe that is happening in Ukraine, but also by the admirable efforts of our employees to help ease the situation for Ukrainian refugees.” says Rainer Erdmann, Managing Director of PicoQuant. “To provide fast assistance, we transfer the amount that our employees have collected so far today, while the fund raising continues.” he adds.

PicoQuant was one of the first companies to publish an ethical statement on their website, expressing that territorial integrity must be respected and the war in Europe stopped, since diplomacy, not weapons, solves conflicts. Our sympathy is with all victims of the war.

February 14, 2022

Meet Prima, PicoQuant’s new multiple color pulsed diode laser

The stand alone, compact laser module provides three individual wavelengths at an affordable price

In a recent webinar, PicoQuant has unveiled its latest laser innovation: the stand alone, fully computer controlled laser module Prima. “Our objective when developing Prima was to offer a solution to a common challenge faced by many researchers. They often need more than a single excitation wavelength to study all of their samples, but buying multiple lasers can become quite expensive. So we tapped our 25 years of expertise in laser development to create an affordable, compact module that can emit red, green, and blue light”, says Guillaume Delpont, Product Manager at PicoQuant.

February 7, 2022

Congratulations to the winners of the BiOS Young Investigator Award 2022

PicoQuant sponsors a prize worth 750 USD

The winners of the Young Investigator Award 2022 are Luis Morales from the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Light, Germany with a talk on "An optofluidic antenna for enhancing the photon collection rate from analytes in solution" and Abderrahim Boualam from the Imperial College London, UK with a talk on "Can we see both small and fast? Investigating the speed limits of Structured Illumination Microscopy (SIM)".

Congratulations!

The BiOS is part of SPIE Photonics West, North America's largest photonics event and was held January 22-27, 2022 in San Francisco, California, USA. Every year, PicoQuant co-organizes the special conference "Single Molecule Spectroscopy and Superresolution Imaging" within the BiOS symposium and sponsors the "Young Investigator Award" worth 750 USD.

December 16, 2021

Season’s Greetings

The PicoQuant Team wishes everyone a safe and happy holiday season as well as a joyful New Year 2022

The year 2021 marks the 25th anniversary of PicoQuant. To celebrate the occasion, we decided to carry out several activities during the year, such as supporting three additional local projects that were suggested by our employees. One of the selected charities is "Strassenkinder e.V.", which fosters socially disadvantaged children through education and social participation. Another one is the science education focused charity "Technische Jugendfreizeit- und Bildungsgesellschaft". Also, PicoQuant has obtained a MoorFutures certificate which  improves our greenhouse gas balance through rewetting selected bogs in Germany. If you’d like to learn more about how PicoQuant got started, what we do and stand for as well as selected highlights from our history, then head over to our anniversary web page.

An important part of the holiday season is sharing and thus our traditional financial support goes this year to Unicef. A further tradition at PicoQuant is to give Christmas gifts to all children of the employees. Thus, Santa’s little helpers have been very busy packing, tying and wrapping again within the weeks before Christmas - this year using old lip charts and newspaper as a sustainable alternative to wrapping paper.

A peaceful holiday season and a happy new year to everyone!