Stefan W. Hell

Reaching Molecular Size Resolution in Lens-Based Microscopy: the Diffraction Limit Blown Away

Category: Agora Talks

Date: 1 July 2019

Duration: 41 min

Quality: HD MD SD

Stefan W. Hell (2019) - Reaching Molecular Size Resolution in Lens-Based Microscopy:  the  Diffraction Limit Blown Away

Abstract

I will discuss the most recent breakthroughs in diffraction-unlimited fluorescence nanoscopy, starting out with the basic physical concepts [1] that allowed the longstanding diffraction resolution barrier to be shattered. Thinking these principles through to the end has recently enabled another breakthrough that seemed entirely 'crazy' 25 years ago, when I was still at the beginning of my quest for subdiffraction resolution [2]. Following the demonstration of molecular-size (~1 nm) resolution with MINFLUX [3], this concept should allow us to investigate the structure and dynamics of molecular complexes in molecular detail.

[1] Hell SW. Science 316, 1153-1158 (2007)
[2] Hell SW and Wichmann J. Optics Letters 19, 780-782 (1994)
[3] Balzarotti F, Eilers Y, Gwosch KC, Gynna AH, Westphal V, Stefani FD, Elf J, Hell SW. Science 355, 606-612 (2017)