Progresses in implementation of STED microscopy

Abstract Optical fluorescence microscopy provides molecular specificity and high contrast, which are powerful aspects in biomedical researches. Moreover, super-resolution microscopy techniques have broken through the diffraction-limited resolution, which had hindered optical microscopy. Among various techniques, stimulated emission depletion (STED) microscopy quasi-instantaneously reduces the size of the effective focal spot by suppressing the peripheral fluorescence of the excited spot with an additional depletion laser, while also providing optical sectioning. With these advantages, the usage of STED microscopy is increasing in the various field of research. Nevertheless, STED microscopy has been continuously improved to answer more biological questions. This review summarises the recent advancements and new techniques implemented for STED microscopy, including microscopy architectures, multicolour ability, deep-tissue imaging, aberration correction, three-dimensional super-resolution, fast measurement, photostability, and multimodality. It is expected that STED microscopy will further evolve and become an more widely useful tool for life sciences.