Issue 36, 2013

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.

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

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
17 apr 2013
Accepted
13 maj 2013
First published
06 jun 2013

Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2013,15, 14856-14861

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

D. Hu, B. Zhao, Y. Xie, G. Orr and A. D. Q. Li, Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2013, 15, 14856 DOI: 10.1039/C3CP51629F

To request permission to reproduce material from this article, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements