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Super-resolution microscopy as a powerful tool to study complex synthetic materials

Nature Reviews Chemistry volume 3, pages 68–84 (2019)Cite this article

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Abstract

Understanding the relations between the formation, structure, dynamics and functionality of complex synthetic materials is one of the great challenges in chemistry and nanotechnology and represents the foundation for the rational design of novel materials for a variety of applications. Initially conceived to study biology below the diffraction limit, super-resolution microscopy (SRM) is emerging as a powerful tool for studying synthetic materials owing to its nanometric resolution, multicolour ability and minimal invasiveness. In this Review, we provide an overview of the pioneering studies that use SRM to visualize materials, highlighting exciting recent developments such as experiments in operando, wherein materials, such as biomaterials in a biological environment, are imaged in action. Moreover, the potential and the challenges of the different SRM methods for application in nanotechnology and (bio)materials science are discussed, aiming to guide researchers to select the best SRM approach for their specific purpose.

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Fig. 1: STED imaging of self-assembled supramolecular polymers.
Fig. 2: Polymeric materials studied with SRM.
Fig. 3: Super-resolution imaging of lipid-based materials.
Fig. 4: Super-resolution imaging of DNA origami.
Fig. 5: Super-resolution imaging of metal nanoparticles.
Fig. 6: Interactions between materials and cells or biomolecules can be studied with nanometric resolution using SRM.

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank the Spanish Ministry of Economy, Industry and Competitiveness through the project SAF2016-75241-R, the Generalitat de Catalunya through the Centres de Recerca de Catalunya (CERCA) programme, the EuroNanoMed II platform through the NanoVax project, the Obra Social La Caixa foundation and the European Research Council (ERC-StG-757397). The useful discussions with the entire Nanoscopy for Nanomedicine group are gratefully acknowledged.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia (IBEC), The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology (BIST), Barcelona, Spain

    Silvia Pujals, Natalia Feiner-Gracia, Pietro Delcanale & Lorenzo Albertazzi

  2. Laboratory of Self-Organizing Soft Matter, Laboratory of Macromolecular and Organic Chemistry, Department of Chemical Engineering, Institute for Complex Molecular Systems (ICMS), Eindhoven University of Technology, Eindhoven, Netherlands

    Ilja Voets

  3. Department of Biomedical Engineering, Institute for Complex Molecular Systems (ICMS), Eindhoven University of Technology, Eindhoven, Netherlands

    Lorenzo Albertazzi

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Glossary

Abbe’s criteria

Criteria that state the resolution that can be obtained in principle, considering the diffraction of light. Ernst Abbe described in 1873 that by using light with a wavelength λ travelling through a medium of refractive index n and focused with a half-angle θ, the minimum resolution possible is λ/2nsin θ.

Far-field optical techniques

Techniques that make use of optical microscopes in which light does not pass through subwavelength features.

4Pi microscopy

A fluorescence technique in which two objective lenses are focused to the same spatial location to achieve improved axial resolution.

Recombinant proteins

Translated products of the expression of recombinant DNA non-native to living cells (such as bacteria, mammalian and yeast).

Stepwise photobleaching

The sequential loss of the fluorescence of individual molecules, resulting in a series of distinguishable steps that provide information about the number of fluorophores present.

Transmission diffraction grating

A device with a periodic structure that diffracts incident light into different directions.

Protein corona

The layer of adsorbed protein on the surface of a nanoparticle exposed to biological fluids such as blood. It can be divided into hard corona, stably bound proteins and soft corona, which is loosely and reversibly bound to the surface.

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Pujals, S., Feiner-Gracia, N., Delcanale, P. et al. Super-resolution microscopy as a powerful tool to study complex synthetic materials. Nat Rev Chem 3, 68–84 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41570-018-0070-2

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