Functional super-resolution microscopy of the cell.

Functional super-resolution microscopy of the cell. Curr Opin Chem Biol. 2019 Jun 15;51:92-97 Authors: Yan R, Wang B, Xu K Abstract Recent advances in super-resolution fluorescence microscopy have led to ∼10 nm spatial resolution and profound impact on cell biology and beyond. Here we discuss emerging possibilities to encode functional information of intracellular microenvironments, for example, local pH, small-molecule concentrations, chemical polarity (hydrophobicity), and protein activity, into diverse dimensions of the super-resolution signal, hence a class of approaches we collectively refer to as functional super-resolution microscopy. By adding remarkably rich functional information to the already powerful super-resolution arsenal, functional super-resolution microscopy transcends the structural information provided by existing methods, and opens up new ways to unveil fascinating local heterogeneities in live cells with nanometer-scale spatial resolution and ultimate sensitivity down to the single-molecule level. PMID: 31212118 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
Source: Current Opinion in Chemical Biology - Category: Biochemistry Authors: Tags: Curr Opin Chem Biol Source Type: research