New microscopy method achieves angstrom-scale localization precision with one laser
MIT researchers have developed U-STORM, a new super-resolution imaging technique that uses upconverting nanoparticles to achieve angstrom-level precision. This method overcomes previous limitations by utilizing nanoparticles that blink spontaneously, allowing for clearer visualization of molecular structures.
Why it matters
This breakthrough significantly enhances the resolution limits of biological imaging, potentially accelerating discoveries in molecular biology and drug development.
by Danielle Randall Doughty, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
edited by Gaby Clark , reviewed by Robert Egan
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Add as preferred source U-STORM workflow and route to ångström-level precision. Credit: Nature Nanotechnology (2026). DOI: 10.1038/s41565-026-02233-x Researchers in the lab of Sam Peng, the Pfizer Inc.–Gerald Laubach Career Development Assistant Professor of Chemistry at MIT and a core institute member of the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, have developed a super-resolution imaging technology. It allows scientists to visualize molecular structures with angstrom-level localization precision—three orders of magnitude beyond the nanometer-scale limits of standard fluorescent dyes—while simplifying the imaging process.
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