N-SIM Structured Illumination Super-resolution Microscope

Limited time only!! Please take advantage of the availability of N-SIM while the system is here.

Unlike conventional "deblurring" type of optical instruments such as confocal and deconvolution designed to reject out-of-focus light, structured illumination microscopy (SIM) utlizes moire fringes to illuminate the biological structures with spatially structured excitation light, thus gaining access to otherwise inaccessible high-resolution information.

The N-SIM system at the Northwestern University Nikon Imaging Center can perform two-color (red and green emission) fluorescence imaging beyond sub-diffraction limit, at resolution ranging from 110-130nm, depending on wavelengths. With its 0.6 sec image acquisition speed, users can perform reasonably rapid live cell imaging with enhanced resolution.

Comparison of optical resolution achieved using conventional confocal (left) and Nikon SIM structured illumination super-resolution microscope (right). Note that the SIM system successfully resolved the double globular heads of myosin II (red arrows) along stress fibers. Myosin is visualized using GFP-tagged regulatory light chain. Picture source: Laboratory of Dr. Teng-Leong Chew