OSE Seminars
Extending Single-Molecule Microscopy Using Optical Processing Techniques
Presented by Dr. Adam Backer, Sandia National Labs
In recent years, single-molecule fluorescence microscopy has revolutionized the field of biological imaging. Using single-molecule localization techniques combined with control of the emitting concentration and time-sequential imaging, it is now possible to image structures with resolution an order of magnitude smaller than the classical diffraction limit, thus achieving 'super-resolution'. Such advances have established the fluorescence microscope as a powerful non-invasive imaging technology, and have been recognized with the 2014 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.
My doctoral research aimed to further extend the limits of super-resolution and single-molecule imaging. Fluorescent molecules are versatile probes that provide a wealth of information about their nanoscale environment. However, the majority of super-resolution applications measure only the two-dimensional positions of single molecules during a typical experiment. By constructing multimodal imaging systems that sense additional physical parameters on a molecule-by-molecule basis, additional biological insight may be gleaned. In my talk, I will present a suite of experimental methods developed over the course of my Ph. D. for encoding a molecule's three-dimensional position, its orientation, and its rotational dynamics into the image that its fluorescence forms on a camera sensor. These techniques are readily combined with super-resolution microscopy, and have been demonstrated to be useful tools for cellular imaging, and for the characterization of stretched DNA strands.
11:00 am, Thursday, January 19, 2017
Room 103, Center for High Tech Materials
Science and Technology Park - South Campus
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A schedule of talks within the Department of Physics and Astronomy is available on the P&A web site at http://physics.unm.edu/pandaweb/events/index.php