Fluorescent Bioconjugates for Super-Resolution Optical Nanoscopy

Fluorescent microscopy techniques are widely used in biological studies. However, the spatial resolution of fluorescent microscopy is restricted by the optical diffraction limit. In the past two decades, super-resolution imaging techniques with different principles have been invented to visualize biomolecules at nanometer scales. The development of nearly all these techniques is closely related to the advances in fluorescent probes. In particular, the intrinsic properties of fluorescent probes constrain the optimal imaging performance of super-resolution nanoscopy techniques. In this review, we summarized the recent progress in fluorescent probe bioconjugates for super-resolution imaging techniques. Examples of these bioconjugates include the widely used fluorescent proteins (FPs), organic dyes, quantum dots (Qdots), carbon dots (Cdots), upconversion nanoparticles (UCNPs), aggregation induced emission (AIE) nanoparticles, and polymer dots (Pdots). Based on the characteristics of the existing probes and their adaptability in current imaging methods, we provide a perspective for further development of fluorescent probes for super-resolution imaging.