Can super-resolution microscopy become a standard characterization technique for materials chemistry?

Abstract

The characterization of newly synthesized materials is a cornerstone of all chemistry and nanotechnology laboratories. For this purpose, a wide array of analytical techniques have been standardized and are used...

Personal Perspective on Understanding Low Molecular Weight Gels

“…Cryo-TEM is very effective and does not require drying, but it is hard to image the gel network since there is a maximum thickness for this technique. , Hence, one often sees “free” structures as opposed to the network, and it is not uncommon to see very aligned structures, for example, which is presumably an artifact of the shear forces induced during the blotting process. Confocal microscopy can be really useful in terms of accessing the microstructure of the gels. , Super-resolution microscopy techniques can also be used effectively. , However, for both confocal and super-resolution microscopy, addition of a dye is normally required which can lead to questions as to whether the addition of the dye (or the synthesis of a dye-functionalized LMWG) has affected the outcome of the self-assembly. There are examples where the addition of a supposedly innocent dye leads to changes in the self-assembly.…”

“…35,37 Superresolution microscopy techniques can also be used effectively. 35,38 However, for both confocal and super-resolution microscopy, addition of a dye is normally required which can lead to questions as to whether the addition of the dye (or the synthesis of a dye-functionalized LMWG) has affected the outcome of the self-assembly. There are examples where the addition of a supposedly innocent dye leads to changes in the self-assembly.…”

Triblock Terpolymer Thin Film Nanocomposites Enabling Two-Color Optical Super-Resolution Microscopy

“…Optical super-resolution microscopy (OSRM) is an emerging complementary imaging technique for BCP thin film structural characterization . OSRM alleviates certain limitations of more traditional methods by providing noninvasive three-dimensional (3D) structural information as well as allowing in situ studies without the need for high vacuum or high-energy beams, which can damage sensitive organic materials. − As polymer compositions and structures grow more complex to meet the ever-evolving demand for new and specific material properties, it becomes all the more important to comprehensively characterize these systems with complementary tools like OSRM. , …”

“…30−33 As polymer compositions and structures grow more complex to meet the ever-evolving demand for new and specific material properties, it becomes all the more important to comprehensively characterize these systems with complementary tools like OSRM. 34,35 OSRM overcomes Abbe's diffraction limit of visible light, which has restricted the resolution of optical microscopes to ∼200 nm for well over a century. 36 While finding rapid and extensive use in the biological sciences, it has only gradually made its way into the polymer community despite its vast potential.…”

Calcite-Assisted Localization and Kinetics (CLocK) Microscopy

“…Localization-based super-resolution imaging is now well-established as a powerful tool to overcome the diffraction limit of light by analyzing single-emitter point-spread functions (PSFs) to determine the spatial position associated with the point of highest intensity, leading to new insights in fields ranging from biology to material science. − The position of highest intensity is approximated as the location of the single emitter and, given sufficient signal-to-noise, can have spatial precision better than 10 nm. − Repeating the process for many single emitters allows for super-resolved images to be constructed, allowing us to break the resolution barrier of traditional optical microscopes and discover unseen structure and processes with nanoscale resolution.…”