SIM and PALM: high-resolution microscopy methods and their consequences for cell biology

The diffraction limit in traditional fluorescence microscopy (approximately 200 and 600 nanometers in lateral and axial directions, respectively) has restricted the applications in bio-medical research. However, over the last 10 years various techniques have emerged to overcome this limit. Each of these techniques has its own characteristics that influence its application in biology. This paper will show how two of the techniques, Structured Illumination Microscopy (SIM) and PhotoActivated Localization Microscopy (PALM), complement each other in imaging of biological samples beyond the resolution of classical widefield fluorescence microscopy. As a reference the properties of two well known standard imaging techniques in this field, confocal Laser Scanning Microscopy (LSM) and Total Internal Reflection (TIRF) microscopy, are compared to the properties of the two high resolution techniques. Combined SIM/PALM imaging allows the extremely accurate localization of individual molecules within the context of various fluorescent structures already resolved in 3D with a resolution of up to 100nm using SIM. Such a combined system provides the biologist with an unprecedented view of the sub-cellular organization of life.