Fluorescence nanoscopy at the sub-10 nm scale

Luciano A Masullo; Alan M Szalai; Lucía F Lopez; Fernando D Stefani

doi:10.1007/s12551-021-00864-z

Fluorescence nanoscopy at the sub-10 nm scale

Biophys Rev. 2021 Dec 2;13(6):1101-1112. doi: 10.1007/s12551-021-00864-z. eCollection 2021 Dec.

Authors

Luciano A Masullo^{1

2}, Alan M Szalai¹, Lucía F Lopez², Fernando D Stefani^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ Centro de Investigaciones en Bionanociencias (CIBION), Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas Y Técnicas (CONICET), Godoy Cruz 2390, C1425FQD Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, Argentina.
² Departamento de Física, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas Y Naturales, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Güiraldes 2620, C1428EHA Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Abstract

Fluorescence nanoscopy represented a breakthrough for the life sciences as it delivers 20-30 nm resolution using far-field fluorescence microscopes. This resolution limit is not fundamental but imposed by the limited photostability of fluorophores under ambient conditions. This has motivated the development of a second generation of fluorescence nanoscopy methods that aim to deliver sub-10 nm resolution, reaching the typical size of structural proteins and thus providing true molecular resolution. In this review, we present common fundamental aspects of these nanoscopies, discuss the key experimental factors that are necessary to fully exploit their capabilities, and discuss their current and future challenges.

Keywords: Molecular resolution; Single-molecule localization; Super-resolution microscopy.

Publication types

Review