Understanding super-resolution nanoscopy and its biological applications in cell imaging

Abstract

Optical microscopy has been an ideal tool for studying phenomena in live cells because visible light at reasonable intensity does not perturb much of the normal biological functions. However, optical resolution using visible light is significantly limited by the wavelength. Overcoming this diffraction-limit barrier will reveal biological mechanisms, cellular structures, and physiological processes at a nanometer scale, orders of magnitude lower than current optical microscopy. Although this appears to be a daunting task, recently developed photoswitchable probes enable reconstruction of individual images into a super-resolution image, thus the emergence of nanoscopy. Harnessing the resolution power of nanoscopy, we report here nano-resolution fluorescence imaging of microtubules and their network structures in biological cells. The super-resolution nanoscopy successfully resolved nanostructures of a microtubule network—a daunting task that cannot be completed using conventional wide-field microscopy.