Rocs Microscopy: Super-Resolution Imaging Of Cellular Structures At 100 Hz

Many new, exciting imaging techniques have emerged during the last decade, providing significantly improved spatial resolution and contrast. However, this extra information comes at the cost of more photons required to illuminate the cell, which requires more time and energy and often damages biological structures. The smaller the structures to be investigated, the faster they usually move inside living cells, because of both Brownian motion and coordinated work of molecular motors. Therefore, alternative imaging approaches are necessary. In this talk I will present a novel technique called rotating coherent scattering (ROCS) microscopy. This imaging method is characterized by label-free, coherent imaging through scattering of a rotating laser beam, which reveals a variety of unexpectedly fast processes inside/of living cells. The technique operates at up to 100 Hz with a spatial resolution of currently 150nm, it can acquire thousands of images without loss in image quality and does not require postprocessing, such that the cells can be observed online.