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Fluorescence nanoscopy, or super-resolution microscopy, has become an important tool in cell biological research. However, because of its usually inferior resolution in the depth direction (50-80 nm) and rapidly deteriorating resolution in thick samples, its practical biological application has been effectively limited to two dimensions and thin samples. Here, we present the development of whole-cell 4Pi single-molecule switching nanoscopy (W-4PiSMSN), an optical nanoscope that allows imaging of three-dimensional (3D) structures at 10- to 20-nm resolution throughout entire mammalian cells. We demonstrate the wide applicability of W-4PiSMSN across diverse research fields by imaging complex molecular architectures ranging from bacteriophages to nuclear pores, cilia, and synaptonemal complexes in large 3D cellular volumes.

Original publication

DOI

10.1016/j.cell.2016.06.016

Type

Journal article

Journal

Cell

Publication Date

11/08/2016

Volume

166

Pages

1028 - 1040

Keywords

Animals, Bacteriophages, COP-Coated Vesicles, Cytological Techniques, Golgi Apparatus, Male, Mice, Microscopy, Fluorescence, Single Molecule Imaging, Spermatocytes, Synaptonemal Complex