@article{discovery10094233, journal = {Traffic}, title = {Super-beacons: Open-source probes with spontaneous tuneable blinking compatible with live-cell super-resolution microscopy}, year = {2020}, month = {March}, note = {Copyright {\copyright} 2020 The Authors. Traffic published by John Wiley \& Sons Ltd. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.}, author = {Pereira, PM and Gustafsson, N and Marsh, M and Mhlanga, MM and Henriques, R}, url = {https://doi.org/10.1111/tra.12728}, abstract = {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. 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 compatible super-resolution microscopy without high-illumination or toxic imaging buffers is revealed by imaging interferon inducible transmembrane proteins (IFITMs) at sub-100 nm resolutions.}, keywords = {DNA, fluorescence microscopy, fluorescence quenching, live-cell, molecular-beacons, super-resolution} }