Super-resolution microscopy
![Comparison of the resolution obtained by confocal laser scanning microscopy (top) and 3D structured illumination microscopy (3D-SIM-Microscopy, bottom). Shown are details of a nuclear envelope. Nuclear pores (anti-NPC) red, nuclear envelope (anti-Lamin) green, chromatin (DAPI-staining) blue. Scale bars: 1µm.](/Images/godic/202501/29/3D-SIM-1_NPC_Confocal_vs_3D-SIM_detail2504.jpg")
![](/Images/godic/202501/29/3D-SIM-3_Prophase_3_color2504.jpg")
![SMI + TIRF of human eye tissue affected by macular degeneration](/Images/godic/202501/29/Opthalmology_AMD_Super_Resolution_Cremer2504.png")
![A figure showing the resolution improvement between traditional confocal microscopy and STED microscopy.](/Images/godic/202501/29/STED_Confocal_Comparison_50nm_HWFM2504.png")
Super-resolution microscopy is a form of light microscopy. Due to the diffraction of light, the resolution of conventional light microscopy is limited, as stated by Ernst Abbe in 1873. A good approximation of the resolution attainable is the full width at half maximum (FWHM) of the point spread function, and a precise widefield microscope with high numerical aperture and visible light usually reaches a resolution of ~250 nm.