Department of Physics & Astronomy
University of New Mexico

Physics and Astronomy Colloquium

Ultra-high resolution structural and molecular imaging of cells and tissues

Presented by Fang Huang, Purdue University

We are in an exciting era of biomedical imaging where the inner-workings of cells and tissues can be explored by rapidly developing imaging methods. Labeling specificity and live cell compatibility make fluorescence microscopy an important tool in biomedical research. Its resolution, however, is limited by diffraction to ~250 nm, preventing us from resolving detailed structures within the cell. The recent advent of single molecule switching nanoscopy methods (SMSN, also known as PALM/STORM), overcomes this fundamental limit by stochastically switching single fluorophores on and off so that their emission events can be localized with high precision resulting in a reconstructed image with down to ~25 nm lateral resolution. However, its application has been largely limited to fixed and flat samples due to the poor temporal resolution, inferior resolution in z, and rapidly deteriorating resolution in thick samples.

In this talk, I will present some of our most recent developments which synergistically combine newly available sensors/devices such as sCMOS cameras and deformable mirrors, analytical methods such as deep learning and novel instrumentation to allow SMSN imaging in live cells and tissue specimens. I will show the capabilities of these new imaging systems in revealing the fine details of subcellular structures from a diverse set of biological systems including viruses, bacteria, yeasts, mammalian cells and brain sections.

3:30 pm, Friday, November 18, 2022
PAIS-1100, PAIS

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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