Continuous-wave near-infrared stimulated-emission depletion microscopy using downshifting lanthanide nanoparticles

Liangliang Liang; Ziwei Feng; Qiming Zhang; Thang Do Cong; Yu Wang; Xian Qin; Zhigao Yi; Melgious Jin Yan Ang; Lei Zhou; Han Feng; Bengang Xing; Min Gu; Xiangping Li; Xiaogang Liu

doi:10.1038/s41565-021-00927-y

Continuous-wave near-infrared stimulated-emission depletion microscopy using downshifting lanthanide nanoparticles

Nat Nanotechnol. 2021 Sep;16(9):975-980. doi: 10.1038/s41565-021-00927-y. Epub 2021 Jun 14.

Authors

Liangliang Liang^#¹, Ziwei Feng^#², Qiming Zhang^#³, Thang Do Cong⁴, Yu Wang⁵, Xian Qin¹, Zhigao Yi¹, Melgious Jin Yan Ang¹, Lei Zhou¹, Han Feng⁶, Bengang Xing⁴, Min Gu⁷, Xiangping Li⁸, Xiaogang Liu^{9

10

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Affiliations

¹ Department of Chemistry, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore.
² Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Optical Fiber Sensing and Communications, Institute of Photonics Technology, Jinan University, Guangzhou, China.
³ Centre for Artificial-Intelligence Nanophotonics, School of Optical-Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Shanghai for Science and Technology, Shanghai, China.
⁴ Division of Chemistry and Biological Chemistry, School of Physical & Mathematical Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, Singapore.
⁵ SZU-NUS Collaborative Innovation Center for Optoelectronic Science & Technology, Institute of Microscale Optoelectronics, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, China.
⁶ Nanyang Environment and Water Research Institute, Interdisciplinary Graduate Programme, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, Singapore.
⁷ Centre for Artificial-Intelligence Nanophotonics, School of Optical-Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Shanghai for Science and Technology, Shanghai, China. gumin@usst.edu.cn.
⁸ Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Optical Fiber Sensing and Communications, Institute of Photonics Technology, Jinan University, Guangzhou, China. xiangpingli@jnu.edu.cn.
⁹ Department of Chemistry, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore. chmlx@nus.edu.sg.
¹⁰ SZU-NUS Collaborative Innovation Center for Optoelectronic Science & Technology, Institute of Microscale Optoelectronics, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, China. chmlx@nus.edu.sg.
¹¹ Joint School of National University of Singapore and Tianjin University, International Campus of Tianjin University, Fuzhou, China. chmlx@nus.edu.sg.

^# Contributed equally.

PMID: 34127821
DOI: 10.1038/s41565-021-00927-y

Abstract

Stimulated-emission depletion (STED) microscopy has profoundly extended our horizons to the subcellular level^1-3. However, it remains challenging to perform hours-long, autofluorescence-free super-resolution imaging in near-infrared (NIR) optical windows under facile continuous-wave laser depletion at low power^4,5. Here we report downshifting lanthanide nanoparticles that enable background-suppressed STED imaging in all-NIR spectral bands (λ_excitation = 808 nm, λ_depletion = 1,064 nm and λ_emission = 850-900 nm), with a lateral resolution of below 20 nm and zero photobleaching. With a quasi-four-level configuration and long-lived (τ > 100 μs) metastable states, these nanoparticles support near-unity (98.8%) luminescence suppression under 19 kW cm^-2 saturation intensity. The all-NIR regime enables high-contrast deep-tissue (~50 μm) imaging with approximately 70 nm spatial resolution. These lanthanide nanoprobes promise to expand the application realm of STED microscopy and pave the way towards high-resolution time-lapse investigations of cellular processes at superior spatial and temporal dimensions.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Lanthanoid Series Elements / chemistry*
Lasers*
Luminescence
Metal Nanoparticles / chemistry*
Microscopy, Fluorescence / methods*
Optical Imaging / methods

Substances

Lanthanoid Series Elements