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Leica improves STED system with pulsed laser

28 May 2014

Debuting at the ELMI 2014 meeting in Norway, the laser allows sub-30nm resolution with super-resolution microscope.

Leica Microsystems, Wetzlar, Germany, has launched a new pulsed 775nm STED laser to enhance operation of the super-resolution system Leica TCS SP8 STED 3X (“STED 3X”), which achieves sub-30nm resolution through pulsed stimulated emission depletion (STED) technology.

The laser is an optional enhancement to the system and was first demonstrated last week at the European Light Microscopy Initiative (ELMI) meeting in Oslo, Norway.

The STED 3X super-resolution microscope system is flexible and versatile, and allows researchers to tune resolution in the lateral as well as the axial direction.

The 775 nm pulsed STED laser allows a further increase in the resolution capacity of the associated microscope, revealing subject details in multicolor co-localization experiments that have not been visible before, says the developer.

Dr. Dietmar Gnass, Director R&D at Leica Microsystems, commented, “Our STED 3X, which is based on the modular platform, the TCS SP8, is one example of Leica Microsystems’ steady development of our pioneering super-resolution developments over the past 10 years.”

Decade of super-resolution microscopy

Super-resolution microscopy overcomes the diffraction limit and allows users to investigate, for example, sub-cellular architectures and dynamics at the nano-scale. With the introduction of the very first super-resolution microscope in 2004, the TCS 4Pi, Leica Microsystems says it revolutionized opportunities for life science research.

Following its principle of "with the user, for the user", the company has improved super-resolution microscopy by collaborating closely with scientists and industry partners, and continuously boosted the performance of its imaging systems.

About the Author

Matthew Peach is a contributing editor to optics.org.

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