Related Experiment Video
Updated: Nov 9, 2025
09:29
Utilization of Plasmonic and Photonic Crystal Nanostructures for Enhanced Micro- and Nanoparticle Manipulation
Published on: September 27, 2011
12.5K
Organic Nanoparticles-Assisted Low-Power STED Nanoscopy
Zhongwei Man1,2, Hongtu Cui3, Zheng Lv1,2
1Beijing Key Laboratory for Optical Materials and Photonic Devices, Capital Normal University, Beijing 100048, China.
Nano Letters
|April 13, 2021
Summary
Highly emissive core-shell organic nanoparticles enable ultralow power Stimulated Emission Depletion (STED) nanoscopy. This breakthrough achieves 37 nm resolution for live-cell imaging, preserving cell viability.
Area of Science:
- Biophysics
- Nanotechnology
- Microscopy
Background:
- Stimulated Emission Depletion (STED) nanoscopy offers sub-50 nm resolution for live-cell imaging.
- Conventional STED requires high depletion laser power, potentially harming cells.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop a method for achieving ultralow power STED nanoscopy.
- To enhance STED imaging resolution and preserve cellular function.
Main Methods:
- Utilized highly emissive silica-coated core-shell organic nanoparticles (CSONPs) with a 150 nm Stokes shift.
- Shifted the STED wavelength to the emission maximum (660 nm) for increased efficiency.
Main Results:
- Achieved ultralow power STED by targeting the emission maximum, increasing the stimulated emission cross section ~20-fold.
- Demonstrated a saturation intensity of 0.0085 MW cm⁻² and lateral resolution of 25 nm.
- Performed long-term (>3 min) super-resolution imaging of lysosomal dynamics in living cells at 37 nm resolution.
Conclusions:
- CSONPs enable efficient STED nanoscopy at significantly reduced laser power.
- This approach facilitates high-resolution, long-term live-cell imaging with improved cell viability.
