Current challenges and solutions of super-resolution structured illumination microscopy

Abstract

The resolution of fluorescence microscopy is limited by the diffraction imaging system, and many methods have been proposed to overcome the optical diffraction limit for achieving super-resolution imaging. Structured illumination microscopy (SIM) is one of the most competitive approaches and has demonstrated remarkable achievements. In the last two decades, SIM has been improved in many aspects, such as the enhancement of resolution and imaging depth and virtual modulation-based SIM. In this Perspective, we present an overview of the development of SIM, including the basic theory, application to biomedical studies, and the remarkable progress of SIM. Owing to its flexibility with respect to combination with other methods, SIM can be considered a powerful tool for biomedical study, offering augmented imaging capabilities by exploiting complementary advantages.