{"id":1573,"date":"2013-07-25T18:30:32","date_gmt":"2013-07-25T18:30:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mtlsites.mit.edu\/annual_reports\/2013\/?p=1573"},"modified":"2013-08-14T16:31:46","modified_gmt":"2013-08-14T16:31:46","slug":"wide-field-multispectral-super-resolution-imaging-using-spin-dependent-fluorescence-in-nanodiamonds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mtlsites.mit.edu\/annual_reports\/2013\/wide-field-multispectral-super-resolution-imaging-using-spin-dependent-fluorescence-in-nanodiamonds\/","title":{"rendered":"Wide-field Multispectral Super-resolution Imaging Using Spin-dependent Fluorescence in Nanodiamonds"},"content":{"rendered":"

Recent advances in fluorescence microscopy have enabled spatial resolution below the diffraction limit by localizing multiple temporally or spectrally distinguishable fluorophores. Here, we introduce a super-resolution technique that deterministically<\/i> controls the brightness of uniquely addressable, photo-stable emitters (see Figure 1)[1<\/a>]<\/sup>. We modulate the fluorescent brightness of negatively charged nitrogen-vacancy (NV–<\/sup>) centers in nanodiamonds through magnetic resonance techniques. Using a CCD camera, this \u201cdeterministic emitter switch microscopy” \u201d (DESM) technique enables super-resolution imaging with localization down to 12 nm across a 35×35\u03bcm2<\/sup> area (See Figure 2). DESM is particularly well suited for biological applications such as multispectral particle tracking since fluorescent nanodiamonds are not only cytocompatible but also non-bleaching and bright.<\/p>\n

We have introduced a deterministic emitter switching technique to pinpoint the position of NV–<\/sup> centers below the diffraction limit with resolution comparable to super-resolution stochastic methods. Several other techniques developed in recent years employ multiple optically distinguishable emitters for super-resolution single-molecule tracking. As DESM can potentially distinguish up to 55 different emitters in a spot, it offers the largest number of spectral channels reported to date for multispectral fluorescence microscopy. Super-resolution imaging using fluorescent nanodiamonds holds several advantages over other fluorescent markers for biological applications, including photostability, cytocompatibility, and high-resolution magnetic and electric field sensitivity. Furthermore, DESM allows for detecting a high fluorescence intensity exceeding 1.5×106<\/sup> photons per second for a single NV–<\/sup> center at saturation. In experiments involving biological tissue, we expect two factors that can diminish the signal-to-noise ratio and potentially reduce the number of resolvable emitters: higher background counts and possible rotational diffusion of the nanodiamonds, depending on their location. The high frame rate of up to 0.7 Hz, sub-wavelength localization down to 12 nm, and ability for uninterrupted monitoring of individual emitters make DESM an attractive tool for a range of imaging applications.<\/p>\n\n\t\t