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Related Concept Videos

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.
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,...
Total Internal Reflection Fluorescence Microscopy01:05

Total Internal Reflection Fluorescence Microscopy

Total internal reflection fluorescence microscopy or TIRF is an advanced microscopic technique used to visualize fluorophores in samples close to a solid surface with a higher refractive index, such as a glass coverslip. TIRF only allows fluorophores in proximity to the solid surface to be excited. When light from a medium with a lower refractive index (such as air) hits the glass coverslip at a critical angle, the light undergoes total internal reflection stead of passing through the glass.
Imaging Biological Samples with Optical Microscopy01:18

Imaging Biological Samples with Optical Microscopy

Optical microscopy uses optic principles to provide detailed images of samples. Antonie van Leeuwenhoek designed the first compound optical microscope in the 17th century to visualize blood cells, bacteria, and yeast cells. In 1830, Joseph Jackson Lister created an essentially modern light microscope. The 20th century saw the development of microscopes with enhanced magnification and resolution.
In optical microscopy, the specimen to be viewed is placed on a glass slide and clipped on the stage...

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 27, 2026

Multimodal Volumetric Retinal Imaging by Oblique Scanning Laser Ophthalmoscopy (oSLO) and Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT)
12:22

Multimodal Volumetric Retinal Imaging by Oblique Scanning Laser Ophthalmoscopy (oSLO) and Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT)

Published on: August 4, 2018

Superresolution optical fluctuation imaging (SOFI).

Thomas Dertinger1, Ryan Colyer, Robert Vogel

  • 1Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA. thomasd@chem.ucla.edu

Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology
|November 22, 2011
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Superresolution optical fluctuation-imaging (SOFI) offers a simple, fast, and affordable way to achieve nanoscale resolution in fluorescence microscopy. This technique analyzes emitter fluctuations for high-resolution imaging of cellular structures and dynamics.

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Area of Science:

  • Cell Biology
  • Microscopy
  • Biophysics

Background:

  • Superresolution microscopy enables imaging of cellular structures at the nanoscale.
  • Conventional fluorescence microscopy has limitations in resolution.
  • Nanometer-scale imaging is crucial for understanding cellular dynamics.

Purpose of the Study:

  • Introduce and summarize the superresolution optical fluctuation-imaging (SOFI) technique.
  • Highlight SOFI's advantages over existing superresolution methods.
  • Discuss the basic principles and recent advancements in SOFI.

Main Methods:

  • Statistical evaluation of stochastic fluctuations from single emitters.
  • Development of a novel superresolution imaging technique.
  • Analysis of fixed and live cells and organisms.

Main Results:

  • SOFI achieves resolutions of several nanometers.
  • SOFI demonstrates simplicity, affordability, and high speed.
  • SOFI requires low levels of light exposure.

Conclusions:

  • SOFI is a promising superresolution technique for cell biology.
  • SOFI offers practical advantages for biological discoveries.
  • Further advances in SOFI are expected to expand its applications.