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Related Concept Videos

Imaging Biological Samples with Optical Microscopy01:18

Imaging Biological Samples with Optical Microscopy

4.7K
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.
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Super-resolution Fluorescence Microscopy01:37

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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...
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Atomic Force Microscopy01:08

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Atomic force microscopy (AFM) is a type of scanning probe microscopy that can analyze topographic details of various specimens like ceramics, glass, polymers, and biological samples. AFM offers over 1000 times more resolution than the optical imaging system. Images generated from AFM are three-dimensional surface profiles, offering an advantage over the flat, two-dimensional images from other imaging techniques.
The AFM Probe
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Confocal Fluorescence Microscopy01:16

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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,...
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Updated: Jul 3, 2025

Fluorescence Imaging with One-nanometer Accuracy FIONA
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Label-Free Optical Imaging of Nanoscale Single Entities.

Xinyu Zhou1,2, Andy Chieng1,3, Shaopeng Wang1,2

  • 1Biodesign Center for Bioelectronics and Biosensors, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona 85287, United States.

ACS Sensors
|February 12, 2024
PubMed
Summary

Label-free optical microscopy enables high-resolution imaging of single nanoscale objects like nanomaterials and virions. These advanced techniques offer noninvasive analysis of biological molecules and cellular components without complex sample preparation.

Keywords:
evanescent scatteringinterferometric scatteringlabel-free optical microscopynanofluidic scatteringnanoscale single entitiesplasmonic scatteringsingle moleculessurface plasmon resonance

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Area of Science:

  • Optical Microscopy
  • Nanotechnology
  • Biophysics

Background:

  • Optical microscopy advances enable single-entity imaging of nanoscale objects (nanomaterials, virions, organelles, biological molecules).
  • Plasmonic and scattering-based optical microscopy offer label-free imaging with high spatial and temporal resolution.
  • Label-free methods simplify sample preparation and preserve the native state of analytes.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To review label-free single entity imaging technologies.
  • To discuss the principles, applications, and challenges of these advanced imaging methods.

Main Methods:

  • Plasmonic and scattering-based optical microscopy principles.
  • Label-free imaging techniques.
  • Analysis of nanoscale objects at the single entity level.

Main Results:

  • Label-free methods eliminate sample labeling complexity.
  • These techniques minimize analyte perturbation.
  • Imaging enables noninvasive probing of single entity dynamics and functions for heterogeneity analysis.

Conclusions:

  • Label-free optical microscopy is a powerful tool for nanoscale research.
  • These technologies offer significant advantages for studying biological and material systems.
  • Further development is needed to address key challenges in the field.