Optical super-resolution microscopy unravels the molecular composition of functional protein complexes

Nanoscale. 2019 Oct 10;11(39):17981-17991. doi: 10.1039/c9nr06364a.

Abstract

Optical super-resolution microscopy has revolutionized our understanding of cell biology. Next to visualizing cellular structures with near-molecular spatial resolution, an additional benefit is the molecular characterization of biomolecular complexes directly in an intact cell. Single-molecule localization microscopy, as one technology out of the toolbox of super-resolution methods, generates images by detecting the position of single fluorophore labels and is particularly suited for molecular quantification. We review imaging and analysis methods employing single-molecule localization microscopy and extract molecule numbers.

Publication types

  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Fluorescent Dyes / chemistry*
  • Humans
  • Microscopy, Fluorescence / instrumentation
  • Microscopy, Fluorescence / methods
  • Molecular Imaging* / instrumentation
  • Molecular Imaging* / methods
  • Proteins* / chemistry
  • Proteins* / metabolism

Substances

  • Fluorescent Dyes
  • Proteins