Extended-resolution structured illumination imaging of endocytic and cytoskeletal dynamics

TLDR

Structured illumination microscopy (SIM) achieves super‑resolution with far lower light intensities and faster imaging over cellular fields of view, outperforming other techniques because of key design differences. The study aims to define practical resolution limits for live‑cell SIM under low signal‑to‑noise conditions by developing improved imaging metrics. The authors employed two strategies to enhance SIM resolution for live‑cell imaging of endocytosis and cytoskeletal remodeling. Li et al., Science, 10.1126/science.aab3500.

Abstract

Adding to the super-resolution arsenal Structured illumination microscopy (SIM) uses light intensities that are orders of magnitude lower than other super-resolution methods. SIM is also far faster over cellular-sized fields of view. Li et al. used two approaches to improve the resolution of SIM to allow live cell imaging of dynamic cellular processes, including endocytosis and cytoskeleton remodeling. The contrast in performance between SIM and other techniques is due to a few key differences. Defining the practical resolution at the limited signal-to-noise ratios necessary for live cell imaging will require better imaging metrics. Science , this issue 10.1126/science.aab3500