Improved resolution in single-molecule localization microscopy using QD-PAINT

Single-molecule localization microscopy (SMLM) has allowed the observation of various molecular structures in cells beyond the diffraction limit using organic dyes. In principle, the SMLM resolution depends on the precision of photoswitching fluorophore localization, which is inversely correlated with the square root of the number of photons released from the individual fluorophores. Thus, increasing the photon number by using highly bright fluorophores, such as quantum dots (QDs), can theoretically fundamentally overcome the current resolution limit of SMLM. However, the use of QDs in SMLM has been challenging because QDs have no photoswitching property, which is essential for SMLM, and they exhibit nonspecificity and multivalency, which complicate their use in fluorescence imaging. Here, we present a method to utilize QDs in SMLM to surpass the resolution limit of the current SMLM utilizing organic dyes. We confer monovalency, specificity, and photoswitchability on QDs by steric exclusion via passivation and ligand exchange with ptDNA, PEG, and casein as well as by DNA point accumulation for imaging in nanoscale topography (DNA-PAINT) via automatic thermally driven hybridization between target-bound docking and dye-bound complementary imager strands. QDs are made monovalent and photoswitchable to enable SMLM and show substantially better photophysical properties than Cy3, with higher fluorescence intensity and an improved resolution factor. QD-PAINT displays improved spatial resolution with a narrower full width at half maximum (FWHM) than DNA-PAINT with Cy3. In summary, QD-PAINT shows great promise as a next-generation SMLM method for overcoming the limited resolution of the current SMLM. Microscopy: Seeing individual molecules inside cells with improved resolution A new microscopy method called QD-PAINT will allow researchers to see inside cells with nanoscale precision. The method combines two existing technologies, DNA-PAINT and steric exclusion, to show a proof-of-concept of a proper utilization of quantum dots (QDs) in single-molecule localization microscopy (SMLM) with improved resolution. In the last decade, SMLM using organic dyes allowed observation of previously invisible biological phenomena, such as individual proteins, but resolution was limited to around 20 nm. QDs emit much brighter fluorescence than organic dyes and could theoretically improve the resolution of SMLM. Sung Ho Ryu and Do-Hyeon Kim at Pohang University of Science and Technology in South Korea adapted QDs for SMLM, conferring them with photoswitchability and specificity, and improved SMLM resolution to about 8 nm. The researchers suggest the method could be fine-tuned for even higher resolution.

Automated summary

Researchers have developed a new microscopy method called QD-PAINT, which shows promising potential to overcome the limited resolution of current SMLM by utilizing quantum dots (QDs) with improved photoswitchability and specificity. By adapting QDs for SMLM, researchers achieved an improved resolution of around 8 nm, significantly enhancing the spatial resolution compared to existing methods using organic dyes. This novel approach could potentially lead to even higher resolutions in the future.