Microscopy taps power of programmable DNA
Proteins don’t usually work in isolation, but rather make up larger complexes such as molecular machines that enable cells to communicate with each other, move cargo around in their interiors, or replicate their DNA. Yet even with the advent of super-resolution microscopy, the technology has not been powerful enough to distinguish individual molecular features within those densely packed complexes. Up to now, researchers only have been able to visualize closely positioned molecules or molecular complexes with 10 to 20 nanometer resolution. But by advancing technology, a team at Harvard’s Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering has been able to distinguish features 5 nanometers from each other in a densely packed, single-molecular structure, achieving the highest resolution in optical microscopy. The team, led by Wyss core faculty member Peng Yin, used “discrete molecular imaging” (DMI), which enhances its DNA nanotechnology-powered, super-resolution microscopy platform with an integrated set of new imaging methods. The study...