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ISOLDE Seminar
Super-resolution microscopy – the way to diffraction unlimited imaging
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Europe/Zurich
26-1-022 (CERN)
26-1-022
CERN
Description
Fluorescence microscopy is a well-known and widely used method to investigate samples with visible light, with single-molecule sensitivity without harming the sample. It is mainly used in biological laboratories to perform research on cells, tissues or even whole organisms, such as C. elegans or mices. The major drawback of fluorescence microscopy was its limited resolution due to the diffraction of light. 1873 Ernst Abbe published his law of diffraction, which defines that the resolution of a microscope can’t be better than approximately half the wavelength of the employed light[1]. More than a hundred years later it could be shown, that using not only the properties of the light, but also the properties of the markers, by switching them on and off, it is possible to circumvent the diffraction barrier and get to diffraction unlimited microscopy[2]. The first technique showing super-resolving abilities in far-field was STED-microscopy[3]. The talk includes an introduction to STED-microscopy and will present new insights to increase resolution and speed as well as techniques to reduce the radiative load such as RESOLFT-Microscopy[4]. Further more it will be showen the similarities and differences between single molecule techniques such as STORM[5], PALM[6] and GSIDM[7] and the ensemble switching techniques such as STED and RESOLFT.
