Figure 3

Higher labeling densities increase the amount of detail observed in SMLM imaging. In this example, the structure of a small loop of DNA is determined by labeling the DNA with fluorophores (left column) and determining the fluorophore positions with SMLM (right column). The detail in the resulting image of the DNA (right column) is only as good as the labeling density. (a) Labeling the DNA with only five fluorophores (left), does not preserve the actual structure of the DNA (right). (b) By doubling the number of fluorophores labeling the DNA (left), the structure of the DNA loop starts to appear (right). (c) By densely labeling the structure (left) the shape of the DNA becomes apparent (right).