NIH Researchers Merge Microscopy Techniques for Faster Images
BETHESDA, Md., May 17, 2018 — To create sharper images more quickly, researchers blended instant structured illumination microscopy (iSIM) with total internal reflection fluorescence microscopy (TIRFM). The new technique, called instant TIRF-SIM, allows researchers to observe rapidly moving objects about 10 times faster than other microscopes at similar resolution. TIRFM has been used in cell biology for decades, but it produces blurry images of small features within cells. In the past, superresolution microscopy