Researchers at Texas A&M University have developed a new microscopy method that overcomes long-standing limitations in biological imaging, allowing scientists to view fine cellular structures while looking deep inside living tissue.
Published in the Journal of Biomedical Optics, the technique resolves structures smaller than 100 nanometers—approximately a thousand times thinner than a human hair—while maintaining the capability to image deep into intact samples. The approach combines two-photon excitation, image scanning microscopy, and super-resolution optical fluctuation imaging into a single method known as 2PE-ISM-SOFI.
The research was led by Aart Verhoef, assistant professor of biophotonics in the Texas A&M College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and joint professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy, alongside a broad multidisciplinary team of collaborators across multiple university departments and colleges.
"It is exciting for us to break a barrier that has been a challenge for ages and to open the door for new investigations and discoveries," Verhoef said.
