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Related Concept Videos

Three-Dimensional Microscopy in Microbiology01:28

Three-Dimensional Microscopy in Microbiology

Three-dimensional imaging techniques are essential in cell biology, allowing researchers to visualize intricate cellular structures with high resolution. Two prominent methods, Differential Interference Contrast Microscopy (DIC) and Confocal Scanning Laser Microscopy (CSLM), provide distinct advantages for imaging live and thick specimens, respectively.Differential Interference Contrast MicroscopyDIC microscopy enhances contrast in transparent, unstained samples by converting phase...
Super-resolution Fluorescence Microscopy01:37

Super-resolution Fluorescence Microscopy

Super-resolution fluorescence microscopy (SRFM) provides a better resolution than conventional fluorescence microscopy by reducing the point spread function (PSF). PSF is the light intensity distribution from a point that causes it to appear blurred. Due to PSF, each fluorescing point appears bigger than its actual size, and it is the PSF interference of nearby fluorophores that causes the blurred image. Various approaches to achieving higher resolution through SRFM have recently been developed.
Overview of Electron Microscopy01:25

Overview of Electron Microscopy

The wavelengths of visible light ultimately limit the maximum theoretical resolution of images created by light microscopes. Most light microscopes can only magnify 1000X, and a few can magnify up to 1500X. Electrons, like electromagnetic radiation, can behave like waves, but with wavelengths of 0.005 nm, they produce significantly greater resolution up to 0.05 nm as compared to 500 nm for visible light. An electron microscope (EM) can create a sharp image that is magnified up to 2,000,000X.
Overview of Microscopy Techniques01:22

Overview of Microscopy Techniques

The early pioneers of microscopy opened a window into the invisible world of microorganisms. In 1830, Joseph Jackson Lister created an essentially modern light microscope. The 20th century saw the development of microscopes that leveraged nonvisible light, such as fluorescence microscopy that uses an ultraviolet light source and electron microscopy that uses short-wavelength electron beams. These advances significantly improved magnification, image resolution, and contrast. By comparison, the...
Confocal Fluorescence Microscopy01:16

Confocal Fluorescence Microscopy

Confocal microscopy is an advanced microscopic technique. The prime advantage of the confocal microscope over other microscopy techniques is its ability to block the out-of-focus light from the illuminated samples using pinholes. It is widely used with fluorescence optics to obtain high-resolution, sharp contrast images. Unlike optical microscopes, confocal microscopes use a focused beam of light laser to scan the entire sample surface at different z-planes. These microscopes are, therefore,...
Electron Microscope Tomography and Single-particle Reconstruction01:07

Electron Microscope Tomography and Single-particle Reconstruction

Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) can be used to determine the 3D structure of biological samples with the help of techniques such as electron microscope tomography and single-particle reconstruction. While single-particle reconstruction can examine macromolecules and macromolecular complexes in vitro conditions only, tomography permits the study of cell components or small cells in vivo.
Electron Tomography
Electron tomography can be performed either in TEM or STEM (scanning transmission...

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 20, 2026

Super-resolution Imaging of the Cytokinetic Z Ring in Live Bacteria Using Fast 3D-Structured Illumination Microscopy (f3D-SIM)
12:44

Super-resolution Imaging of the Cytokinetic Z Ring in Live Bacteria Using Fast 3D-Structured Illumination Microscopy (f3D-SIM)

Published on: September 29, 2014

A compact STED microscope providing 3D nanoscale resolution.

D Wildanger1, R Medda, L Kastrup

  • 1Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry, Department of NanoBiophotonics, Göttingen, Germany.

Journal of Microscopy
|September 24, 2009
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Researchers developed an enhanced supercontinuum laser microscope achieving nanoscale resolution down to 19 nm. This advanced fluorescence microscopy technique offers improved imaging capabilities for biological samples.

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Three-dimensional Imaging of Bacterial Cells for Accurate Cellular Representations and Precise Protein Localization
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Visualization of the Immunological Synapse by Dual Color Time-gated Stimulated Emission Depletion (STED) Nanoscopy
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Visualization of the Immunological Synapse by Dual Color Time-gated Stimulated Emission Depletion (STED) Nanoscopy

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Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Jun 20, 2026

Super-resolution Imaging of the Cytokinetic Z Ring in Live Bacteria Using Fast 3D-Structured Illumination Microscopy (f3D-SIM)
12:44

Super-resolution Imaging of the Cytokinetic Z Ring in Live Bacteria Using Fast 3D-Structured Illumination Microscopy (f3D-SIM)

Published on: September 29, 2014

Three-dimensional Imaging of Bacterial Cells for Accurate Cellular Representations and Precise Protein Localization
06:33

Three-dimensional Imaging of Bacterial Cells for Accurate Cellular Representations and Precise Protein Localization

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Visualization of the Immunological Synapse by Dual Color Time-gated Stimulated Emission Depletion (STED) Nanoscopy
10:00

Visualization of the Immunological Synapse by Dual Color Time-gated Stimulated Emission Depletion (STED) Nanoscopy

Published on: March 24, 2014

Area of Science:

  • Optics and Photonics
  • Biomedical Imaging
  • Nanotechnology

Background:

  • Supercontinuum laser sources facilitate compact and tunable stimulated emission depletion (STED) fluorescence microscopes.
  • STED microscopy allows imaging beyond the diffraction limit.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To report an enhanced STED microscopy approach.
  • To demonstrate improved nanoscale resolution in biological samples.

Main Methods:

  • Utilized a supercontinuum laser source for STED microscopy.
  • Configured a single objective lens system for 2D and 3D imaging.
  • Applied mathematical restoration algorithms to enhance resolution.

Main Results:

  • Achieved an all-physics based resolution down to (19 +/- 3) nm in the focal plane.
  • Demonstrated 3D imaging resolution of 45 x 45 x 108 nm in cells.
  • Successfully imaged biological samples with high feature density variations.

Conclusions:

  • The enhanced STED microscope provides unprecedented nanoscale resolution.
  • This technique is versatile for imaging diverse biological specimens.
  • Further improvements are possible with advanced image processing.