How can plasmonic nanoparticles improve superresolution microscopy?

Dr. V Petráková will describe in her talk possible routes to advance the resolution of optical imaging by enhancing the spatial separation and intensity of fluorescent probes using plasmonic nanoparticles. A most promising new technique for such studies is single molecule localization microscopy that overcomes the diffraction limit of optical imaging. But its current limit in resolution (10-20 nm) prevents the observation of single protein units with sufficient accuracy. The key to higher resolution is in brighter fluorophores and higher spatial separation of fluorophores. She will introduce plasmonic nanoparticles as tools to achieve both. By effectively focusing light into nanoscale volumes through their electromagnetic near-field, plasmonic nanoparticles enhance the absorption and emission of a molecule. Additionally, plasmonic enhancement leads to the shift in the projected position of the photon emitted by the fluorophore, creating an image that no longer corresponds to the fluorophore original position. A system based on DNA origami will be described that exploits this shift in detected position as a way to expand the projection of the sample structure and further increase resolution.

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