Publication

Bibliographic Data

  • Authors: Testa I., Wurm C.A., Medda R., Rothermel E., von Middendorf C., Foelling J., Jakobs S., Schoenle A., Hell S.W., Eggeling C.
  • Title: Multicolor Fluorescence Nanoscopy in Fixed and Living Cells by Exciting Conventional Fluorophores with a Single Wavelength
  • Journal: Biophysical Journal
  • Volume: 99
  • Volume: 2686-2694
  • DOI: 10.1016/j.bpj.2010.08.012

Abstract

Current far-field fluorescence nanoscopes provide subdiffraction resolution by exploiting a mechanism of fluorescence inhibition. This mechanism is implemented such that features closer than the diffraction limit emit separately when simultaneously exposed to excitation light. A basic mechanism for such transient fluorescence inhibition is the depletion of the fluorophore ground state by transferring it (via a triplet) in a dark state, a mechanism which is workable in most standard dyes. Here we show that microscopy based on ground state depletion followed by individual molecule return (GSDIM) can effectively provide multicolor diffraction-unlimited resolution imaging of immunolabeled fixed and SNAP-tag labeled living cells. Implemented with standard labeling techniques, GSDIM is demonstrated to separate up to four different conventional fluorophores using just two detection channels and a single laser line. The method can be expanded to even more colors by choosing optimized dichroic mirrors and selecting marker molecules with negligible inhomogeneous emission broadening.