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Art and artifacts in single-molecule localization microscopy: beyond attractive images

Single-molecule super-resolution techniques emerged only several years ago but have revolutionized fluorescence microscopy of cellular structures. We discuss some key principles of these techniques, point out pitfalls, highlight recent developments and identify opportunities for the future.

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Figure 1: Cellular structures can serve as a benchmark for calculating the spatial resolution.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the Systems Biology Initiative (FORSYS) of the Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung and by the German Science Foundation (EXC 115).

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Correspondence to Ulrike Endesfelder or Mike Heilemann.

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Endesfelder, U., Heilemann, M. Art and artifacts in single-molecule localization microscopy: beyond attractive images. Nat Methods 11, 235–238 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1038/nmeth.2852

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