Super-Resolution Microscopy: Principles, Techniques, and Applications

Diffraction sets a physical limit for the theoretically achievable resolution; however, it is possible to circumvent this barrier. That’s what microscopists have been doing in recent years and in many ways at once, starting the era of super-resolution in light microscopy. High-resolution approaches come in various flavors, and each has specific advantages or disadvantages. For example, near-field techniques avoid the problems associated with the propagation of light by getting very close to the specimen. In the far-field, the strategies include increasing the light collecting capability, sharpening the point spread function or high-precision localization of individual fluorescent molecules. In this chapter, the major super-resolution approaches are introduced briefly, together with their pros and cons, and exemplar biological applications.