Fluorophores: Single‐Molecule STED Microscopy with Photostable Organic Fluorophores (Small 13/2010)

The cover image shows fluorescence images of single immobilized double-stranded oligonucleotides. With photophysical and -chemical properties of fluorophores being the key to breaking the diffraction resolution barrier, the development of far-field fluorescence nanoscopy depends crucially on improved fluorescent probes. Stimulated emission depletion (STED) microscopy is combined with fluorophore stabilization through a reducing and oxidizing system (ROXS), and a significant improvement of photostability is demonstrated. This improvement can be exploited either for repetitive measurements necessary for 3D or dynamic STED imaging, or for maximizing its resolution. A lateral resolution <30 nm is demonstrated in the raw image data recorded from single organic fluorophores immobilized in an aqueous buffer. For more information, please read the Communication “Single-Molecule STED Microscopy with Photostable Organic Fluorophores” by P. Tinnefeld, S. W. Hell, M. Sauer, et al., beginning on page 1379.