Polymer-dots for STORM Imaging

Fluorescent microscopy techniques are widely used in biological studies. However, the spatial resolution of fluorescent microscopy is restricted by the optical diffraction limit. In the past two decades, super-resolution imaging techniques with different principles have been invented to visualize biomolecules at nanometer scales. The development of nearly all these techniques is closely related to the advances in fluorescent probes. In particular, the intrinsic properties of fluorescent probes constrain the optimal imaging performance of super-resolution nanoscopy techniques. Here for the first time we developed a novel class of semiconducting polymer dots that can operate in an optically switchable mode.