title: A compact STED microscope providing 3D nanoscale resolution.
abstract: The advent of supercontinuum laser sources has enabled the implementation of compact and tunable stimulated emission depletion fluorescence microscopes for imaging far below the diffraction barrier. Here we report on an enhanced version of this approach displaying an all-physics based resolution down to (19 +/- 3) nm in the focal plane. Alternatively, this single objective lens system can be configured for 3D imaging with resolution down to 45 x 45 x 108 nm in a cell. The obtained results can be further improved by mathematical restoration algorithms. The far-field optical nanoscale resolution is attained in a variety of biological samples featuring strong variations in the local density of features.
authors.affiliation: Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry, Department of NanoBiophotonics, Göttingen, Germany.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Wildanger
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Medda
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Kastrup
authors.forename: S W
authors.initials: SW
authors.lastname: Hell
mesh_terms: D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted / Q000379:methods; D018613:Microscopy, Confocal / Q000379:methods; D008856:Microscopy, Fluorescence / Q000379:methods*; D016900:Neurofilament Proteins / Q000032:analysis; D009474:Neurons / Q000737:chemistry / Q000648:ultrastructure
chemical_list: D016900:Neurofilament Proteins