The fight against the liver disease hepatitis C has been something of an impasse
for years, with more than 150 million people currently infected, and traditional
antiviral treatments causing nasty side effects and often falling short of a
cure.
Park
Systems' XE-Bio helped researchers at Stanford University discover a vulnerable
step in the virus' reproduction process that in lab testing could be effectively
targeted with an obsolete antihistamine. XE-Bio successfully imaged and analyzed
two of the compounds that most potently inhibit vesicle aggregation revealed
their mechanism of action on 4BAH2 function. These results provide new insight
into the molecular mechanism of HCV replication platform assembly, and demonstrate
the utility of a novel small-molecule anti-HCV strategy.
“Discovering a potential new path for Hepatitis C treatment is great
news to the XE-Bio users of our high-performance technologies and to the wider
bio-imaging community, offering enhanced potential to interrogate nanoscale
environments with accuracy, sensitivity and functionality.” said Dr. Young-Kook
(Ryan) Yoo, Park Systems' director of global sales and marketing. Using ionic
current in aqueous solution, the ICM head of XE-Bio offers high definition topographic
imaging of soft materials in live cells. Park Systems has established itself
as an innovator and technology leader of the atomic force microscope and the
company continues to expand its AFM product offerings by licensing and supporting
its technology with partners, to bring cutting-edge AFM solutions to market.
XE-Bio is a powerful 3-in-1 nanoscience research tool that uniquely combines
industry's only True Non-Contact AFM with Ion Conductance Microscopy (ICM) and
inverted optical microscope on the same platform. The modular design of the
XE-Bio allows easy exchange between non-contact AFM and ICM. Designed for non-invasive
in-liquid imaging, the combined imaging capability of AFM, ICM, and inverted
optical microscopy makes the XE-Bio ideal for imaging biological samples, such
as living cells, in dynamic conditions. Moreover, ICM can be adapted to enable
a host of powerful applications in nanoscale electrophysiology.
Park Systems serves its customers by providing a complete range of AFM solutions
including AFM systems, options and software, along with global service and support.
Park Systems is the technology leader of nanoscale measurements and systems
for both research and industry. The product line of Park Systems reflects its
focused strength to help customers achieve the metrology performance that meets
the needs and requirements of present and future applications. Since improvements
in nanometrology are key to enabling tomorrow's research, analysis, processing
and product manufacturing, the innovative technology and market leadership of
Park Systems in the field of nanmetrology will remain as the core competence
and market driving force of its future business. Park Systems' manufacturing
and engineering facilities are located in Suwon, South Korea. Global sales and
service offices are located throughout the U.S., Japan, and Singapore.