KENBIKYO Vol.52▶No.2 2017
■Feature Articles: The Forefront of Advances in Super-Resolution Microscopy

Super-Resolution Microscopy Based on the Confocal Microscope Optics

Yasushi Okada

Abstract: For the observation of moving objects, the image acquisition time should be short enough to avoid motion blur. However, most super-resolution fluorescent microscope techniques achieved high spatial resolution at the expense of temporal resolution, which precluded their application to live cell imaging. Here, we discuss the principle of the super-resolution microscopy based on the confocal microscope optics, which enabled us to observe the dynamics of subcellular organelles in living cells at the temporal resolution of 10 ms (100 frames per sec) and the spatial resolution around 100 nm (twice better than the diffraction limit).

Key words: Super-resolution microscopy, Confocal microscope optics, Live cell imaging, Image scanning microscopy