Kindling molecules: a new way to 'break' the Abbe limit

Olivier Haeberle (1)

1 MIPS - Modélisation, Intelligence, Processus et Système

Fluorescence microscopy is a key tool for biological investigations. However, compared to other techniques like electron microscopy, the achievable resolution is still limited. Tremendous efforts have been devoted to improve the resolution of far-field optical microscopy. Several techniques do exist; however their adoption by biologists has been slowed by several technical limitations. We propose a new method based on a recently discovered family of optically switchable fluorescent molecules. Kindling proteins open the way to very high resolution in far-field fluorescence 3-D microscopy with relatively simple techniques.

Mots clés: Fluorescence microscopy; PSF engineering

Domaines: Optique / photonique

Olivier Haeberle. Kindling molecules: a new way to 'break' the Abbe limit. Comptes Rendus. Physique, 2004, 5, pp.143-148. ⟨10.1016/j.crhy.2003.11.001⟩. ⟨hal-00936081⟩