biostudies-literatureHsu JCNational Science and Technology Council491https://www.ebi.ac.uk/biostudies/studies/S-EPMC12294864biostudies-literatureUnknown11(7)Direct stochastic optical reconstruction microscopy (dSTORM) circumvents the diffraction limit of light, emerging as a powerful superresolution technique for visualizing subcellular structures with a nanoscale resolution of 10-20 nm. Yet achieving ultrastructural resolution using dSTORM alone remains challenging, despite its advantage of requiring only minimal modifications to the imaging setup and sample preparation compared to conventional fluorescence microscopy. A recent advancement that integrates expansion microscopy (ExM), which embeds specimens in a swellable polymer gel, with dSTORM holds promise for attaining imaging resolutions below 10 nm. The combined resolution, however, is governed by the expansion factor of samples, and prior studies have primarily focused on integrations iGels (Basel, Switzerland)Pushing Optical Resolution to the Few-Nanometer Scale via dSTORM Imaging of Expanded Specimen-Gel Composites.PMC12294864Grant No. 113-2628-E-002-014-Yang TTHsu JCfalsePushing Optical Resolution to the Few-Nanometer Scale via dSTORM Imaging of Expanded Specimen-Gel Composites.Direct stochastic optical reconstruction microscopy (dSTORM) circumvents the diffraction limit of light, emerging as a powerful superresolution technique for visualizing subcellular structures with a nanoscale resolution of 10-20 nm. Yet achieving ultrastructural resolution using dSTORM alone remains challenging, despite its advantage of requiring only minimal modifications to the imaging setup and sample preparation compared to conventional fluorescence microscopy. A recent advancement that integrates expansion microscopy (ExM), which embeds specimens in a swellable polymer gel, with dSTORM holds promise for attaining imaging resolutions below 10 nm. The combined resolution, however, is governed by the expansion factor of samples, and prior studies have primarily focused on integrations i2025-01-01T00:00:00Z2025 Jun2025-08-13T03:04:37.907Z2025-08-13T03:04:37.907ZS-EPMC122948644071065410.3390/gels11070491