Engineering new capabilities into optical microscopes : toward measuring the three-dimensional position and orientation of single molecules in living cells

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Abstract/Contents

Abstract
The labeling of specific biological structures with single fluorescent molecules has ushered in a new era of imaging technology: super-resolution optical microscopy with resolution far beyond the diffraction limit down to some tens of nm. With the features of these exquisite tools in mind, this Dissertation discusses optical strategies for measuring the three-dimensional (3D) position and orientation of single molecules with nanoscale precision and several super-resolution imaging studies of structures in living cells. The concepts of single-molecule imaging, super-resolution microscopy, the engineering of optical point spread functions (PSFs), and quantitative analysis of single-molecule fluorescence images are introduced. The various computational methods and experimental apparatuses developed during the course of my graduate work are also discussed. Next, a new engineered point spread function, called the Corkscrew PSF, is shown for 3D imaging of point-like emitters. This PSF has been demonstrated to measure the location of nanoscale objects with 2-6 nm precision in 3D throughout a 3.2-micrometer depth range. Characterization and application of the Double-Helix (DH) PSF for super-resolution imaging of structures within mammalian and bacterial cells is discussed. The DH-PSF enables 3D single-molecule imaging within living cells with precisions of tens of nanometers throughout a ~2-micrometer depth range. Finally, the impact of single-molecule emission patterns and molecular orientation on optical imaging is treated, with particular emphasis on multiple strategies for improving the accuracy of super-resolution imaging. The DH microscope is shown to be well-suited for accurately and simultaneously measuring the 3D position and orientation of single molecules.

Description

Type of resource text
Form electronic; electronic resource; remote
Extent 1 online resource.
Publication date 2015
Issuance monographic
Language English

Creators/Contributors

Associated with Lew, Matthew D
Associated with Stanford University, Department of Electrical Engineering.
Primary advisor Moerner, W. E. (William Esco), 1953-
Thesis advisor Moerner, W. E. (William Esco), 1953-
Thesis advisor Fan, Jonathan Albert
Thesis advisor Solgaard, Olav
Advisor Fan, Jonathan Albert
Advisor Solgaard, Olav

Subjects

Genre Theses

Bibliographic information

Statement of responsibility Matthew D. Lew.
Note Submitted to the Department of Electrical Engineering.
Thesis Thesis (Ph.D.)--Stanford University, 2015.
Location electronic resource

Access conditions

Copyright
© 2014 by Matthew Duk-Ying Lew
License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial 3.0 Unported license (CC BY-NC).

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