Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jan 14, 2026

A Technical Guide for Performing Spectroscopic Measurements on Metal-Organic Frameworks
Published on: April 28, 2023
Transition metal complexes as optical probes for super-resolution microscopy
Sumit Kumar Pramanik1, Sreejesh Sreedharan2, Noufal Kandoth3
1CSIR-Central Salt and Marine Chemicals Research Institute, Bhavnagar, India.
None:
The suite of techniques encompassing optical super-resolution microscopy can facilitate detailed visualization of biological structures and biochemical transformations at unprecedented levels of resolution and contrast; however, they depend on imaging probes with specific biophysical and photophysical properties. In this context, metal complexes with tuneable photo-excited states and stability towards photobleaching are promising candidates for advanced imaging techniques. This Review illustrates how, by selecting appropriate optical properties and luminescence responses, metal complexes can be utilized as probes for a range of super-resolution microscopy techniques, including multimodal imaging, to study subcellular architecture and dynamics with nanoscale resolution. Limitations and challenges of the existing molecular probes are also discussed. By highlighting these recent innovations and providing suggestions for future directions, this Review further underscores the importance of optical probes in pushing the boundaries of super-resolution microscopy and advancing our understanding of complex biological systems.
More Related Videos
11:26Visualizing Single Molecular Complexes In Vivo Using Advanced Fluorescence Microscopy
Published on: September 8, 2009
06:53Author Spotlight: Magnetometric Characterization of Intermediates in the Solid-State Electrochemistry of Redox-Active Metal-Organic Frameworks
Published on: June 9, 2023
Related Concept Videos
Super-resolution Fluorescence Microscopy
Colors and Magnetism
When atoms or molecules absorb light at the proper frequency, their electrons are excited to higher-energy orbitals. For many main group atoms and molecules, the absorbed photons are in the ultraviolet range of the electromagnetic spectrum, which cannot be detected by the human eye. For coordination compounds, the energy difference between the d orbitals often allows photons in the visible range to be absorbed and emitted, which is seen as colors by the human...
Stereoisomerism
Isomers are different chemical species that have the same chemical formula.
Transition metal complexes often exist as geometric isomers, in which the same atoms are connected through the same types of bonds but with differences in their orientation in space. Coordination complexes with two different ligands in the cis and trans positions from a ligand of interest form isomers. For example, the octahedral [Co(NH3)4Cl2]+ ion has two isomers (Figure 1) In the cis...
Crystal Field Theory - Octahedral Complexes
To explain the observed behavior of transition metal complexes (such as colors), a model involving electrostatic interactions between the electrons from the ligands and the electrons in the unhybridized d orbitals of the central metal atom has been developed. This electrostatic model is crystal field theory (CFT). It helps to understand, interpret, and predict the colors, magnetic behavior, and some structures of coordination compounds of transition metals.
CFT focuses on...