A simple and cost-effective setup for super-resolution localization microscopy

Abstract Single molecule localization microscopy (SMLM) has become a powerful imaging tool for biomedical research, but it is mostly available in imaging facilities and a small number of laboratories due to its high cost. Here, we evaluate the possibility of replacing high-cost components on standar...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Hongqiang Ma, Rao Fu, Jianquan Xu, Yang Liu
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Nature Publishing Group 2017-05-01
Series:Scientific Reports
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-017-01606-6
Description
Summary:Abstract Single molecule localization microscopy (SMLM) has become a powerful imaging tool for biomedical research, but it is mostly available in imaging facilities and a small number of laboratories due to its high cost. Here, we evaluate the possibility of replacing high-cost components on standard SMLM with appropriate low-cost alternatives and build a simple but high-performance super-resolution SMLM setup. Through numerical simulation and biological experiments, we demonstrate that our low-cost SMLM setup can yield similar localization precision and spatial resolution compared to the standard SMLM equipped with state-of-the-art components, but at a small fraction of their cost. Our low-cost SMLM setup can potentially serve as a routine laboratory microscope with high-performance super-resolution imaging capability.
ISSN:2045-2322