STED Microscopy

Far-field fluorescence microscopy is among the most frequently used methods in biomedical research today. Due to diffraction, it has long been subject to a limited spatial resolution but since the invention of stimulated emission depletion (STED) microscopy and subsequent high-resolution imaging techniques enables imaging at the nanoscale. Because STED microscopy is efficiently implemented using ultrashort pulsed lasers it has often been associated with complex setups and costly and high-maintenance laser systems. Recent developments in laser technology have allowed to design powerful, less complex and easy-to-operate STED microscopes which allow spatial resolutions down to 20 nm in 2D or 45 nm x 45 nm x 108 nm in 3D to be achieved. The broad spectrum of the supercontinuum sources permit the use of fluorescent markers across the visible spectrum. Also, multicolor operation is readily conceivable.