Super-Resolution Microscopy

About Super-Resolution

It is about 20 years since super-resolution microscopy and nanoscopy arrived on the light microscopy scene, but it already plays an important role, particularly in life sciences – without superseding conventional confocal microscopy. The term super-resolution refers to methods that surpass the so-called diffraction limit. Applications are wide ranging – from dynamic vesicle movements to fluorescence images of sub-cellular structures, allowing researchers to see details in unprecedented detail. LIGHTNING Image Information Extraction is a super-resolution method that exploits the sub-diffraction lateral resolution capabilities of confocal microscopy. With LIGHTNING on a SP8 confocal microscope you can image multiple fluorophores simultaneously – without the need for sequential scanning. You can capture cellular details and observe dynamics with resolution down to 120 nm. As a truly infinitely super-resolving technology, STED nanoscopy offers resolution down to 30 nanometers. STED provides instant super-resolved imaging with multiple channels and approaching isotropic super-resolution in three dimensions. Underlining the impact of super-resolution microscopy, the 2014 Nobel Prize for Chemistry was awarded jointly to Eric Betzig, Stefan W. Hell and William E. Moerner "for the development of super-resolved fluorescence microscopy".