SAFe 180 is an illumination system developed by abbelight for high-throughput 2D single-molecule and TIRF imaging.
This TIRF single molecule localization microscope add-on can be connected to any camera port of any inverted microscope to provide a very large homogeneous illumination for an affordable price.
The ultimate 2D nanoscope
- Super-resolution imaging modes: PALM, dSTORM, PAINT, SPT…
- Illumination modes; automatic switching from EPI, HiLo to TIRF
- The largest homogeneous 2D Field Of View: 150 x 150 µm²
- Low power laser needed: abbelight SAFe light technology
- 3D option with astigmatism: capture range ~ 600nm
SMLM Principle
Breaking the diffraction limit
Single Molecule Localization Microscopy relies on the ability to randomly activate only a subset of fluorescent molecules to distinguish them spatially. By repeating the process in consecutive image acquisitions, accumulated raw data are processed to detect single molecules with a nanometric precision (down to 10 nm). Data quantification and analysis are then performed to resolve either structures or dynamics at the nanoscale level. To reconstruct a nanoscopy image, each molecule is detected and localized by specialized algorithms.
SMLM capabilities: from structure to dynamics
Current SMLM approaches only differ in how the fluorophores activation-inactivation is induced. Among them, STORM, PALM and PAINT resolve spatial structures with nanometric precision, while SPT reveals temporal dynamic processes in living cells.
Structures …
dSTORM
direct STochastic Optical Reconstruction Microscopy
dSTORM exploits the photo switching properties of some fluorophores. In certain conditions, fluorophores can be sent to an intermediary state (the “dark state”) from which they randomly cycle between ON and OFF states.
- Standard organic fluorescent dyes (cyanines, rhodamines, oxazines…)
- Specific imaging buffer containing a reducer, which induces the transition to a dark state, and an oxygen scavenging system to stabilize this state before returning to the ground state.
PALM
PhotoActivated Localization Microscopy
PALM uses specific fluorescent fusion proteins called “photoactivatable” or “photoconvertible”. The ON state of these proteins can be randomly activated with the proper laser excitation.
- Photo-activatable or convertible fluorescent proteins (mEos3,2, Dendra2, PA-mCherry, mMaple,…);
- No specific buffer, live-cell compatible
PAINT
Point Accumulation for Imaging in Nanoscale Topography
PAINT uses specific dyes that are ON only when they are transiently bound to their target. W ith the appropriate dye concentrations, it is possible to achieve a regime where only a few dyes are ON at the same time. DNA-PAINT uses short DNA single strands coupled to fluorophores. These probes are ON when they transiently hybridize to the complementary DNA strand coupled to an antibody targeting the structure of interest.
- Specific fluorophores that have the ability to emit fluorescence only upon binding to their biological target (ex: Nile Red, which fluoresces only when interacting with membranes)
- No specific buffer, live-cell compatible.
Dynamics…
SPT: Single Particle Tracking
SPT in SMLM combines Single Particle Tracking with SMLM (PALM or STORM) to obtain spatially and temporally highly resolved diffusion maps of single molecules.SPT need a precise algorithm to found and draw tracks from each molecule in the cell, state of the art algorithm are implemented in Neo Softwares.
SAFe Light: see wider and faster!
ASTER technology
Single-molecule imaging experiments or TIRF microscopy are in many cases limited from the range of the field of view. This is due to the use of Gaussian excitation which does not allow a homogeneous field of illumination on the samples. To solve this issue, we innovated with a very versatile illumination scheme called “Adaptative Scanning for Tunable Excitation Rendering” (ASTER). This can create a uniform field of illumination up to from 25×25μm² to150x150μm².
- 150×150 µm² field of view with 300 mW laser power
- More intensity on the sample with lower laser power
- Illumination adaptable to the sample
- TIRF, HiLo or EPI illumination modes
- 16-times more quantitative data
- Homogeneous illumination, no interference patterns in the image
Manufacturers website: https://www.abbelight.com/
For more microscopy products: https://www.axiomoptics.com/advanced-light-microscopy-p/