Scientists from the Cuban Center for Advanced Studies (CEA) and the Pedro Kourí Institute of Tropical Medicine (IPK) managed to capture an image of the SARS-Cov-2 coronavirus, the first to be obtained from clinical samples in Cuba.
The images of the virus were obtained using the scanning electron microscopy technique, according to a publication on the CEA’s Twitter account, the Agencia Cubana de Noticias news agency reported this Sunday.
Científicos del CEA e IPK logran obtener las primeras imágenes del virus SARS-CoV-2 directamente de muestras clínicas de pacientes cubanos, mediante Microscopía Electrónica de Barrido.#ceacuba #ipk #CienciaCubana #CubaPorLaSalud #CubaSalvaVidas #SomosCuba #SomosContinuidad pic.twitter.com/pZ8U3lsE8D
— CENTRO DE ESTUDIOS AVANZADOS DE CUBA (@cuba_cea) May 8, 2020
According to the source, this technique allows producing high-resolution images of the surface of a sample at microscopic sizes, and has applications in different branches, such as in the petrochemical and metallurgy industries.
Inaugurated last July as the national headquarters for research in this field, and focused mainly on the areas of biotechnology and medicine, the CEA is dedicated to the development of nanosciences and nanotechnologies.
Cuba inaugura un centro de estudios avanzados en nanociencias
Located west of Havana, the CEA is multidisciplinary. Among its main purposes is to promote the presence of Cuba in the international market for bionanotechnology, a discipline that seeks to build machines at the nanometric scale using the knowledge of molecular biology.
Last March it was learned that the CEA contributes to the development of the country, since it is projected to obtain construction materials that, using nanoparticles, allow for concrete that is more resistant to the island’s environmental conditions.
Meanwhile, the IPK has the highest possible prestige in the diagnosis, prevention and control of various diseases and epidemics in Cuba.
He is currently leading the direct fight against COVID-19 through patient care and the study of their tests through the National Reference Laboratory.
