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bioRxiv · 10.1101/2023.12.29.573596

Single-molecule detection and super-resolution imaging with a portable and adaptable 3D-printed microscopy platform (Brick-MIC)

Moya Munoz, G. G.·Brix, O.·Klocke, P.·Wendler, N. D.·Lerner, E.·Zijlstra, N.·Cordes, T.
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Abstract

Over the past decades, single-molecule and super-resolution microscopy have advanced and represent essential tools for life science research. There is,however, a growing gap between the state-of-the-art and what is accessible to biologists, biochemists, medical researchers or labs with financial constraints. To bridge this gap, we introduce Brick-MIC, a versatile and affordable open-source 3D-printed micro-spectroscopy and imaging platform. Brick-MIC enables the integration of various fluorescence imaging techniques with single-molecule resolution within a single platform and exchange between different modalities within minutes. We here present variants of Brick-MIC that facilitate single-molecule fluorescence detection, fluorescence correlation spectroscopy and super-resolution imaging (STORM and PAINT). Detailed descriptions of the hardware and software components, as well as data analysis routines are provided, to allow non-optics specialist to operate their own Brick-MIC with minimal effort and investments. We foresee that our affordable, flexible, and open-source Brick-MIC platform will be a valuable tool for many laboratories worldwide.

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Moya Munoz, G. G., Brix, O., Klocke, P., Wendler, N. D., Lerner, E., Zijlstra, N., Cordes, T.. 2023-12-29. Single-molecule detection and super-resolution imaging with a portable and adaptable 3D-printed microscopy platform (Brick-MIC). https://doi.org/10.1101/2023.12.29.573596

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