생화학분자생물학회

	Name: Phil Sang Yu ( fx0908@postech.ac.kr )
	2017-present	Ph.D. Candidate, Single-molecule Biophysics Lab., Department of Physics, Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH)
	2011-2017	B.S, Department of electronic physics, Hankuk University of Foreign Studies
	Name: Chae Un Kim ( cukim@unist.ac.kr )
	2018-present	Associate Professor, Department of Physics, UNIST, Korea
	2014-2018	Assistant Professor, Department of Physics, UNIST, Korea
	2009-2014	Staff Scientist, Cornell University, USA
	2002-2008	Ph.D., Biophysics, Cornell University, USA
	Name: Jong-Bong Lee ( jblee@postech.ac.kr )
	2011-present	Associate Professor and Professor, Department of Physics and School of Interdisciplinary Bioscience & Bioengineering, POSTECH, Korea
	2007-2011	Assistant Professor, Department of Physics, POSTECH, Korea
	2004-2007	Postdoctoral research fellow, Harvard Medical School, USA
	1999-2004	Ph.D., Department of Physics, Brandeis University, USA

Cryogenic Single-molecule Fluorescence Imaging

Cryo-fixation techniques, including cryo-electron and cryo-fluorescence microscopy, enable the preservation of biological samples in a near-native state by rapidly freezing them into an amorphous ice phase. These methods prevent the structural distortions often caused by chemical fixation, allowing for high-resolution imaging. At low temperatures, fluorophores exhibit improved properties, such as extended fluorescence lifetimes, reduced photobleaching, and enhanced signal-to-noise ratios, making single-molecule imaging more accurate and insightful. Despite these advantages, challenges remain, including limitations in numerical aperture of objectives and cryo-stage for single-molecule imaging, which can affect photon detection and spatial resolution. Recent advancements at low temperatures have mitigated these issues, achieving resolutions at the nanometer scale. Looking forward, innovations in super-resolution techniques, optimized fluorophores, and Artificial Intelligence (AI)-based data analysis promise to further advance the field, providing deeper insights into biomolecular dynamics and interactions. In this mini-review, we will introduce low-temperature single-molecule fluorescence imaging techniques and discuss future perspectives in this field.


BMB Rep. 2024 Dec 20. pii: 6385. [Epub ahead of print]
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39701023/