PALM/STORM microscopy

The SIM, or super-high resolution microscope is a new generation of microscopes called nanoscopes. PALM or STORM microscopy is one of the super-resolution microscopy techniques along with:

• STED ;
• SIM ;
• dynamic super-resolution …

The PALM/STORM technique

PALM (photo-activated localization microscopy) and STORM (stochastic optical reconstruction microscopy) are based on the same principle but were developed by two laboratories under two different names. In these techniques, fluorochromes are activated by flashes of light, but only some of them randomly light up because of the stochastic property of photoactivation. Observing molecules one by one repetitively gives a better image resolution.