Quantitative Stimulated Emission Depletion (STED) Microscopy with DNA-Fluorophore Labels
Abstract
Stimulated emission depletion (STED) microscopy enables super-resolution imaging of complex biological samples in 3D, in large volumes, and live. However, molecular quantification with STED has remained underexplored. Here, we present a straightforward approach for quantitative STED that enables molecule counting. For this purpose, we designed DNA-fluorophore labels that enable signal amplification and allow for reliable intensity-based quantitative imaging. We demonstrate accurate molecule counting on DNA origami. Furthermore, we visualized and quantified EGF receptor monomers and dimers in cells. In summary, we introduce a robust, fast, and easy-to-implement tool for quantitative STED microscopy with single-protein resolution.
Fields of Study & Subjects
Advanced Fluorescence Microscopy Techniques
Advanced biosensing and bioanalysis techniques
Single-cell and spatial transcriptomics
Publication details
- Journal / source
- ACS Nano
- Publisher
- American Chemical Society (ACS)
- Volume
- 20
- Issue
- 6
- Pages
- 5288–5296
- Publication date
- 3 February 2026
- Language
- EN