The 2015 super-resolution microscopy roadmap

Research output: Contribution to journalReview articleContributedpeer-review

Contributors

  • Stefan W. Hell - , Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry (Karl Friedrich Bonhoeffer Institute), German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) (Author)
  • Steffen J. Sahl - , Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry (Karl Friedrich Bonhoeffer Institute) (Author)
  • Mark Bates - , Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry (Karl Friedrich Bonhoeffer Institute) (Author)
  • Xiaowei Zhuang - , Harvard University (Author)
  • Rainer Heintzmann - , Leibniz Institute of Photonic Technology, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, King's College London (KCL) (Author)
  • Martin J. Booth - , University of Oxford (Author)
  • Joerg Bewersdorf - , Yale University (Author)
  • Gleb Shtengel - , Howard Hughes Medical Institute (Author)
  • Harald Hess - , Howard Hughes Medical Institute (Author)
  • Philip Tinnefeld - , Technical University of Braunschweig (Author)
  • Alf Honigmann - , Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics (Author)
  • Stefan Jakobs - , Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry (Karl Friedrich Bonhoeffer Institute), University of Göttingen (Author)
  • Ilaria Testa - , Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry (Karl Friedrich Bonhoeffer Institute), KTH Royal Institute of Technology (Author)
  • Laurent Cognet - , Université de Bordeaux (Author)
  • Brahim Lounis - , Université de Bordeaux (Author)
  • Helge Ewers - , Free University of Berlin (Author)
  • Simon J. Davis - , University of Oxford (Author)
  • Christian Eggeling - , University of Oxford (Author)
  • David Klenerman - , University of Cambridge (Author)
  • Katrin I. Willig - , Center for Nanoscale Microscopy and Molecular Physiology of the Brain (CNMPB) (Author)
  • Giuseppe Vicidomini - , Italian Institute of Technology (Author)
  • Marco Castello - , Italian Institute of Technology (Author)
  • Alberto Diaspro - , Italian Institute of Technology (Author)
  • Thorben Cordes - , University of Groningen (Author)

Abstract

Far-field optical microscopy using focused light is an important tool in a number of scientific disciplines including chemical, (bio)physical and biomedical research, particularly with respect to the study of living cells and organisms. Unfortunately, the applicability of the optical microscope is limited, since the diffraction of light imposes limitations on the spatial resolution of the image. Consequently the details of, for example, cellular protein distributions, can be visualized only to a certain extent. Fortunately, recent years have witnessed the development of 'super-resolution' far-field optical microscopy (nanoscopy) techniques such as stimulated emission depletion (STED), ground state depletion (GSD), reversible saturated optical (fluorescence) transitions (RESOLFT), photoactivation localization microscopy (PALM), stochastic optical reconstruction microscopy (STORM), structured illumination microscopy (SIM) or saturated structured illumination microscopy (SSIM), all in one way or another addressing the problem of the limited spatial resolution of far-field optical microscopy. While SIM achieves a two-fold improvement in spatial resolution compared to conventional optical microscopy, STED, RESOLFT, PALM/STORM, or SSIM have all gone beyond, pushing the limits of optical image resolution to the nanometer scale. Consequently, all super-resolution techniques open new avenues of biomedical research. Because the field is so young, the potential capabilities of different super-resolution microscopy approaches have yet to be fully explored, and uncertainties remain when considering the best choice of methodology. Thus, even for experts, the road to the future is sometimes shrouded in mist. The super-resolution optical microscopy roadmap of Journal of Physics D: Applied Physics addresses this need for clarity. It provides guidance to the outstanding questions through a collection of short review articles from experts in the field, giving a thorough discussion on the concepts underlying super-resolution optical microscopy, the potential of different approaches, the importance of label optimization (such as reversible photoswitchable proteins) and applications in which these methods will have a significant impact.

Details

Original languageEnglish
Article number443001
JournalJournal of Physics D: Applied Physics
Volume48
Issue number44
Publication statusPublished - 14 Oct 2015
Peer-reviewedYes
Externally publishedYes

External IDs

ORCID /0000-0003-0475-3790/work/161889550

Keywords

Keywords

  • fluorescence, nanoscopy, super-resolution microscopy