Uploaded March 2025 | Updated September 2026, 1 hour ago
Lecture by 2014 Nobel laureate in Chemistry Stefan Hell, Max Planck Institute, at the Molecular Frontiers Symposium "Frontiers of New Knowledge in Science" in Hong Kong, Nov 15-17, 2024.
ABSTRACT
I will show how a deep understanding of the principles of diffraction-unlimited fluorescence microscopy has given rise to MINFLUX, a newer super-resolution method that reaches the Angstrom range, i.e. more than 200 times below the diffraction resolution limit. MINFLUX is currently being used for a variety of applications in the biomedical sciences. A unique advantage of MINFLUX is the direct measurement of dynamic processes and conformational changes of individual proteins in cells, such as the stepping of the motor proteins kinesin-1 and dynein on microtubules. In contrast to all super-resolution methods known to date, MINFLUX does not fundamentally require an ON/OFF process, meaning that it can also separate constantly emitting fluorophores in the nanometer range. The ability to separate constantly emitting fluorophores at nanometer distances has the potential to directly measure the inner workings of individual proteins.
Lecture by 2014 Nobel laureate in Chemistry Stefan Hell, Max Planck Institute, at the Molecular Frontiers Symposium "Frontiers of New Knowledge in Science" in Hong Kong, Nov 15-17, 2024.
ABSTRACT
I will show how a deep understanding of the principles of diffraction-unlimited fluorescence microscopy has given rise to MINFLUX, a newer super-resolution method that reaches the Angstrom range, i.e. more than 200 times below the diffraction resolution limit. MINFLUX is currently being used for a variety of applications in the biomedical sciences. A unique advantage of MINFLUX is the direct measurement of dynamic processes and conformational changes of individual proteins in cells, such as the stepping of the motor proteins kinesin-1 and dynein on microtubules. In contrast to all super-resolution methods known to date, MINFLUX does not fundamentally require an ON/OFF process, meaning that it can also separate constantly emitting fluorophores in the nanometer range. The ability to separate constantly emitting fluorophores at nanometer distances has the potential to directly measure the inner workings of individual proteins.
