Hybrid multifocal structured illumination microscopy with enhanced lateral resolution and axial localization capability

“Super-resolution (SR) fluorescence microscopy that breaks through the diffraction barrier has drawn great interest in biomedical research. However, obtaining a high precision three-dimensional distribution of the specimen in a short time still remains a challenging task for existing techniques. In this paper, we propose a super-resolution fluorescence microscopy with axial localization capability by combining multifocal structured illumination microscopy with a hybrid detection PSF composed of a Gaussian PSF and a double-helix PSF. A modified reconstruction scheme is presented to accommodate the new hybrid PSF. This method can not only recover the lateral super-resolution image of the specimen but also retain the specimen’s depth map within a range of 600 nm with an axial localization precision of 20.8 nm. The performance of this approach is verified by testing fluorescent beads and tubulin in 293-cells. The developed microscope is well suited for observing the precise 3D distribution of thin specimens.”