[China Instrument Network Instrument Development] Nano-scale real-time visual feedback and label-free imaging technology is of great significance for robots operating and testing at the nanometer scale. The Micron-Nano Task Force of the State Key Laboratory of Robotics, Shenyang Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, combined micro-nano optics, robotics, and automation technologies, successfully developed a scanning microlens super-resolution imaging system with real-time visual feedback based on breakthroughs in physics. The technology (Scanning Superlens Microscopy, SSUM) has laid a solid foundation for the improvement of the functionality and performance of nanobots. Relevant results were published in Nature Communications (2016, 7:13748. DOI: 10.1038/ncomms13748, impact factor 11.47). Dr. Wang Feifei, a 2013 Ph.D. student from the Shenyang Institute of Automation, was the author of the paper, Liu Lianqing, and Li Wenrong, researchers.
(a, c, e, j) Imaging of cells with ordinary light microscopes. (b,d,e,f,h,i,j) Superresolution imaging by SSUM.
Super-resolution observation is an important research direction in the scientific community and an important cornerstone for progress in biotechnology, nanotechnology and information technology. It is known that the smallest particle diameter that can be distinguished by the human eye is about 100 microns. Although the optical microscope greatly improves the observation ability of humans, according to the Abbe's diffraction law, the limit size of an object observable by an optical microscope is 200 nanometers, and still cannot Meet the needs of scientific development. Recently, in order to break the diffraction limit, researchers have developed a series of new optical imaging technologies such as STED, PALM, and STORM, which have greatly expanded the ability of humans to observe tiny worlds. However, these imaging technologies often use time-for-space methods, which have problems such as slow speed, need of fluorescent dyeing, and external laser excitation. This makes these super-resolution fluorescence microscopes have some limitations in practical applications. Considering the operation objects and work environment of nano-robots, the limitations of these methods will be particularly prominent.
Providing a sharp eye for a nano-robot and realizing the dynamic tracking of a living material and a non-living material at the nanoscale is of great significance for enhancing the function and performance of the nano-robot. This requires the research of new imaging technologies to make up for the lack of existing technologies. In response to these needs, the Micronano Group undertook a breakthrough in the study of the physical mechanism of super-resolution microlens imaging, borrowed from robot perception, decision-making, and control theory to design and build a super-resolution imaging system with independent intellectual property rights. Under the conditions of natural light irradiation, real-time, living-body, and wide-range super-resolution imaging was achieved for living cells and IC chips with a resolution of 65 nm, which validates the advanced and correctness of related theories, and with the development of technology, the resolution The rate will be further improved.
Focusing on super-resolution observations, the research group has conducted long-term and in-depth research. In the previous work, we conducted research on three-dimensional super-resolution imaging based on near-field white light interference, super-resolution endoscopes based on micro-lenses, and methods for manufacturing micro-lens arrays. The results were published consecutively in Applied Physics Letters, Optics Express, and Scientific Reports. These methods and technologies will play an important role in the in vivo micro- and nano-inspection and operation of robots in the future.
The above research was strongly supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and the State Key Laboratory of Robotics.
(Original title: Shenyang Institute of Automation micro observations research results published in Nature Communications)
(a, c, e, j) Imaging of cells with ordinary light microscopes. (b,d,e,f,h,i,j) Superresolution imaging by SSUM.
Super-resolution observation is an important research direction in the scientific community and an important cornerstone for progress in biotechnology, nanotechnology and information technology. It is known that the smallest particle diameter that can be distinguished by the human eye is about 100 microns. Although the optical microscope greatly improves the observation ability of humans, according to the Abbe's diffraction law, the limit size of an object observable by an optical microscope is 200 nanometers, and still cannot Meet the needs of scientific development. Recently, in order to break the diffraction limit, researchers have developed a series of new optical imaging technologies such as STED, PALM, and STORM, which have greatly expanded the ability of humans to observe tiny worlds. However, these imaging technologies often use time-for-space methods, which have problems such as slow speed, need of fluorescent dyeing, and external laser excitation. This makes these super-resolution fluorescence microscopes have some limitations in practical applications. Considering the operation objects and work environment of nano-robots, the limitations of these methods will be particularly prominent.
Providing a sharp eye for a nano-robot and realizing the dynamic tracking of a living material and a non-living material at the nanoscale is of great significance for enhancing the function and performance of the nano-robot. This requires the research of new imaging technologies to make up for the lack of existing technologies. In response to these needs, the Micronano Group undertook a breakthrough in the study of the physical mechanism of super-resolution microlens imaging, borrowed from robot perception, decision-making, and control theory to design and build a super-resolution imaging system with independent intellectual property rights. Under the conditions of natural light irradiation, real-time, living-body, and wide-range super-resolution imaging was achieved for living cells and IC chips with a resolution of 65 nm, which validates the advanced and correctness of related theories, and with the development of technology, the resolution The rate will be further improved.
Focusing on super-resolution observations, the research group has conducted long-term and in-depth research. In the previous work, we conducted research on three-dimensional super-resolution imaging based on near-field white light interference, super-resolution endoscopes based on micro-lenses, and methods for manufacturing micro-lens arrays. The results were published consecutively in Applied Physics Letters, Optics Express, and Scientific Reports. These methods and technologies will play an important role in the in vivo micro- and nano-inspection and operation of robots in the future.
The above research was strongly supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and the State Key Laboratory of Robotics.
(Original title: Shenyang Institute of Automation micro observations research results published in Nature Communications)