super-resolved fluorescence microscopy

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July 20, 2026

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Super-resolved fluorescence microscopy is a set of techniques that overcome the diffraction limit of light, allowing scientists to see details smaller than 200 nanometers. Conventional light microscopes are limited by the wavelength of light used, blurring structures that are too close together.

Super-resolution methods, such as Stimulated Emission Depletion (STED) microscopy and Structured-Illumination Microscopy (SIM), use fluorescent molecules and clever illumination strategies to achieve much higher resolutions, down to the nanometer scale. This enables the visualization of molecules and cellular structures in living cells, which was previously impossible with traditional microscopy. This advancement has been crucial for understanding cellular processes and has led to Nobel Prize-winning research.12

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Eric Betzig
Prize for Chemistry for using fluorescent molecules to bypass the inherent resolution limit in optical microscopy. He shared the prize with American chemist W.E. Moerner and Romanian-born German chemist Stefan Hell.
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Prize for Chemistry for using fluorescent molecules to bypass the inherent resolution limit in optical microscopy. He shared the prize with American chemist W.E. Moerner and Romanian-born German chemist Stefan Hell.
Read More