What is super-resolution microscopy?

The resolution of light microscopy is traditionally limited by diffraction to approximately half the wavelength of light, which means any objects smaller than about 250 nm cannot be resolved from one other using light. In recent years super-resolution microscopy techniques have been developed to extend light microscopy beyond this diffraction limit. These techniques include Image Scanning Microscopy (ISM), Structured Illumination Microscopy (SIM), Stimulated Emission Depletion microscopy (STED) and Single-molecule Localisation Microscopy (SMLM).

More about super-resolution microscopy techniques...

 A. Wide-field fluorescence microscope image of Cyclin T1 in the nucleus. B. SMLM image of the same nucleus rendered with a pixel size of 100 nm. C. SMLM image of the boxed area rendered with a pixel size of 10 nm. Scale bars 5 µm (A,B) and 0.5 µm in C.

Super-resolution microscopes at the LMCB

The Super-resolution Facility at the LMCB (SuRF) offers the following suite of complementary super-resolution microscope technologies.

• Carl Zeiss Elyra PS.1 - Structured Illumination Microscopy (SIM) and Single molecule Localisation Microscopy (SMLM)
• Leica SP8 STED 3X - Stimulated Emission Depletion (STED) microscopy
• Nikon SoRa - Image Scanning Microscopy (ISM)
• ONI Nanoimager - SMLM, single molecule tracking, smFRET
• 3i Lattice LightSheet – Lattice light sheet microscopy

Using the facility

The achievable resolution and suitability of each technique depends on the specimen and the experimental requirements. If you are interested in using the facility, then please fill in this short web form and the facility staff will arrange a meeting to discuss your requirements.

The charge for using the facility is currently £30.42 per hour. SuRF is a Multi-User Facility (MUF), which cannot be selected in the UCL WorkTribe Research management System, so for grant applications you will need a quotation from the facility manager. Please email Andrew Vaughan for more information or a quote.