TY - GEN TI - Super-Beacons: open-source probes with spontaneous tuneable blinking compatible with live-cell super-resolution microscopy UR - https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.01.20.912311 A1 - Pereira, P A1 - Gustafsson, N A1 - Marsh, M A1 - Mhlanga, M A1 - Henriques, R PB - BioRxiv Y1 - 2020/02/04/ CY - Cold Spring Harbor, NY, USA N2 - Localization based super-resolution microscopy relies on the detection of individual molecules cycling between fluorescent and non-fluorescent states. These transitions are commonly regulated by high-intensity illumination, imposing constrains to imaging hardware and producing sample photodamage. Here, we propose single-molecule self-quenching as a mechanism to generate spontaneous photoswitching independent of illumination. To demonstrate this principle, we developed a new class of DNA-based open-source Super-Resolution probes named Super-Beacons, with photoswitching kinetics that can be tuned structurally, thermally and chemically. The potential of these probes for live-cell friendly Super-Resolution Microscopy without high-illumination or toxic imaging buffers is revealed by imaging Interferon Inducible Transmembrane proteins (IFITMs) at sub-100nm resolutions. EP - 11 AV - public ID - discovery10090448 N1 - The copyright holder for this preprint is the author/funder, who has granted bioRxiv a license to display the preprint in perpetuity. It is made available under a CC-BY 4.0 International license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). ER -