Single molecule localization deep within thick cells; a novel super-resolution microscope

A novel 3D imaging system based on single-molecule localization microscopy is presented to allow high-accuracy drift-free (<0.7 nm lateral; 2.5 nm axial) imaging many microns deep into a cell. When imaging deep within the cell, distortions of the point-spread function result in an inaccurate and very compressed Z distribution. For the system to accurately represent the position of each blink, a series of depth-dependent calibrations are required. The system and its allied methodology are applied to image the ryanodine receptor in the cardiac myocyte. Using the depth-dependent calibration, the receptors deep within the cell are spread over a Z range that is many hundreds of nanometers greater than implied by conventional analysis. We implemented a time domain filter to detect overlapping blinks that were not filtered by a stringent goodness of fit criterion. This filter enabled us to resolve the structure of the individual (30 nm square) receptors giving a result similar to that obtained with electron tomography.