Fiber laser source boosts super-resolution microscopy experiments

Oct. 28, 2011

Researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry, Georg-August-Universitaet Goettingen, and the Yale University School of Medicine have determined that a laser-based fluorescence microscopy technique called stimulated emission depletion (STED) microscopy could be used to image intact, living, multicellular organisms.

Researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry, Georg-August-Universitaet Goettingen (both of Göttingen, Germany), and the Yale University School of Medicine (New Haven, CT) have determined that a laser-based fluorescence microscopy technique called stimulated emission depletion (STED) microscopy could be used to image intact, living, multicellular organisms.

STED microscopy setups based on novel laser sources could enhance the technique's capabilities—particularly the ability to generate ultra-high-resolution images of biological samples quickly and to use fluorescent protein variants of choice. The research team's experiments have successfully demonstrated multiple laser sources for imaging multicellular, living samples expressing green fluorescent protein (GFP).

The team used a fiber laser source (from Mobius Photonics) to produce a comb spectrum of user-selectable visible wavelengths with approximately 1 ns pulse duration and a 20 MHz repetition rate. The wavelength selectivity allowed researchers to tailor the output for GFP, but could also accommodate markers requiring other wavelengths.

For more information on the team's work, please visit http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S000634951100590X.

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