Development and manufacturing of superresolution STED and MINFLUX microscopes as well as proprietary fluorescent dyes
abberior Instruments GmbH
Göttingen · Heidelberg · Basel · Jupiter, FL · Bethesda, MD · BeijingNew on Amplifa
About abberior
abberior is a spin-off from the laboratory of Nobel laureate Prof. Dr. Stefan W. Hell at the Max Planck Institute for Multidisciplinary Sciences in Göttingen and a manufacturer of superresolution light microscopes. The group consists of abberior Instruments GmbH (superresolution and confocal microscopes such as STED, MINFLUX, INFINITY and MIRAVA POLYSCOPE) as well as abberior GmbH (development, production and distribution of fluorescent dyes and labels such as abberior STAR, LIVE, PLEX and CELL PAINTING). Manufacturing encompasses organic dye synthesis, assembly of optical modules and electronic components, as well as customer-specific system assembly with nanometer-precise alignment of the laser beams; the compact STEDYCON is developed and manufactured in Heidelberg. Customers are research institutes and pharmaceutical companies worldwide, who are also offered CRO services ranging from sample preparation to automated high-content and STED imaging workflows to AI-supported data analysis. The group employs more than 100 staff at sites in Germany, Switzerland, the USA and China.
- Site
- Göttingen
- Processes
- Manufacturing and development of fluorescent dyes (organic synthesis, chromatography,, Module assembly (optical modules and electronic components for microscopes), System assembly of MINFLUX and STED microscopes (INFINITY, MIRAVA POLYSCOPE) according to customer, STEDYCON manufacturing: development, module production, system integration as well as development, CRO services: sample preparation, staining, assay development, automated, STED microscopy (superresolution, resolution down to 20 nm in 2D / 75 nm in 3D), MINFLUX microscopy (single-digit nanometer resolution, tracking at up to 10 kHz), Confocal microscopy and high-content imaging (automated multiwell scanning with
- Materials
- abberior STAR dyes, abberior LIVE dyes, abberior PLEX dyes, abberior CELL PAINTING dyes, abberior CELL PAINTING, MINFLUX system, STED systems (INFINITY, MIRAVA POLYSCOPE, STEDYCON)
- Certificates
- In-house system testing and alignment, Service (remote and on-site), Installation and user training
- Employees
- more than 100
- Industries
- Life sciences research, Pharmaceuticals / drug discovery, Materials science, Academic research institutes
- 01
Dye synthesis and spectroscopic analysis
- 02
Labeling strategies and assay development
- 03
Hardware and software development
- 04
Module assembly (optics and electronics)
- 05
System assembly and alignment
- 06
On-site installation at the customer, training and service
Dyes & Systems
abberior STAR dyes
Dyes optimized for STED, spectrally usable from 400 to 680 nm.
abberior LIVE dyes
Dyes for living cells across the full spectrum range.
abberior PLEX dyes
Dyes for multiplex staining.
abberior CELL PAINTING
Dye set for cell painting multiplex assays.
MINFLUX system
Sole manufacturer of a light microscope with single-digit nanometer resolution and tracking at up to 10 kHz.
STED systems (INFINITY, MIRAVA POLYSCOPE, STEDYCON)
Superresolution down to 20 nm in 2D and 75 nm in 3D.
Locations
Göttingen
DEHeadquarters, dye production, module and system assembly
- Materials
- Fluorescent dyes
- MINFLUX assembly
- STED/INFINITY system assembly
- MIRAVA POLYSCOPE assembly
- Automated high-content/STED imaging systems
Heidelberg
DESTEDYCON development and manufacturing
- STEDYCON manufacturing
- Pulsed excitation lasers
Basel
CHOffice
Jupiter, FL
USOffice of abberior Instruments America LLC
Bethesda, MD
USOffice of abberior Instruments America LLC
Beijing
CNOffice of abberior Instruments Beijing Co., Ltd.
Products & Systems
Inside the production
Industries
Processes & technical limits
| Processes | Tolerance | Max. part | Weight | Lot size | Materials |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manufacturing and development of fluorescent dyes (organic synthesis, chromatography,Testing | – | – | – | – | Fluorescent dyes, organic dyes |
| Module assembly (optical modules and electronic components for microscopes)Assembly | – | – | – | – | – |
| System assembly of MINFLUX and STED microscopes (INFINITY, MIRAVA POLYSCOPE) according to customerAssembly | Nanometer precision (alignment) | – | – | – | – |
| STEDYCON manufacturing: development, module production, system integration as well as developmentAssembly | – | – | – | – | – |
| CRO services: sample preparation, staining, assay development, automatedTesting | – | – | – | – | abberior CELL PAINTING, abberior LIVE, abberior PLEX 5 |
| STED microscopy (superresolution, resolution down to 20 nm in 2D / 75 nm in 3D)Testing | – | – | – | – | – |
| MINFLUX microscopy (single-digit nanometer resolution, tracking at up to 10 kHz)Testing | – | – | – | – | – |
| Confocal microscopy and high-content imaging (automated multiwell scanning withTesting | – | – | – | – | – |
| Labeling strategies (immunofluorescence, cell painting multiplex, fixed and living cells)Testing | – | – | – | – | – |
| Cell culture and sample preparation (seeding in multiwell plates or on slides)Testing | – | – | – | – | – |
| R&D hardware development: optics, mechanics, electronics, simulation, prototyping, testing throughEngineering | – | – | – | – | – |
5 Anlagen & Maschinen
| Machine | Manufacturer / model | Quantity | Working area | Year built | Site |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MINFLUX microscope (superresolution fluorescence microscope) | abberior MINFLUX | – | – | – | Göttingen (system assembly) |
| STED microscope (superresolution, resolution down to 20 nm 2D / 75 nm 3D) | abberior INFINITY | – | – | – | Göttingen (system assembly) |
| MIRAVA POLYSCOPE (combines four microscopy technologies, resolution mm to 3 nm) | abberior MIRAVA POLYSCOPE | – | – | – | Göttingen |
| STEDYCON (compact STED microscope) | abberior STEDYCON | – | – | – | Heidelberg |
| Automated high-content/STED imaging systems for pharmaceutical screening (multiwell scanning, 24/7, | abberior | – | – | – | Göttingen |
Additional services
Reference customers
Quality
abberior manufactures, tests and aligns microscopes in-house down to nanometer-precise alignment of the laser beams; the systems are extensively tested before they are installed at the customer's site. Automated screening workflows are designed to pharmaceutical quality.
| Evidence | Göttingen | Heidelberg |
|---|---|---|
| In-house system testing and alignment | ||
| Service (remote and on-site) | ||
| Installation and user training |
History
- 2011
Founding of abberior GmbH by Prof. Dr. Stefan W. Hell, Dr. Vladimir Belov, Dr. Lars Kastrup and Dr. Gerald Donnert as a spin-off of the Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry in Göttingen.
- 2012
Founding of abberior Instruments GmbH by Donnert, Egner, Harke, Hell, Kastrup, Reuss and Schönle as a spin-off of the MPI Göttingen and the DKFZ Heidelberg.
- 2014
Nobel Prize in Chemistry awarded to co-founder Stefan W. Hell for the fundamentals of superresolution microscopy.
- 2022
Stefan Hell receives the Werner von Siemens Ring together with the BioNTech founders.
- ca. 2012/201
Started with seven employees in a single room; today more than 100 employees.