The ability to detect pathogens directly on a contaminated surface can provide valuable information
Within the EHU we have been using a specialised microscopy system, the Episcopic Differential Interference Contrast/Epifluorescence (EDIC/EF) microscope which allows us to image opaque surfaces under brightfield and fluorescence illumination at high magnifications. Combining this with the use of specific peptide nucleic acid (PNA) probes in fluorescence in situ hybridisation (FISH) assays we can visualise individual pathogens on complex surfaces and within biofilms.