Expanding Expansion Microscopy to Reveal Hidden Nanostructures

Inside a living cell, proteins and other molecules are often tightly packed together. These dense clusters can be difficult to image because the fluorescent labels used to make them visible can’t wedge themselves in between the molecules. Researchers at MIT developed a method to overcome this limitation by expanding a cell or tissue sample prior to labeling, effectively de-crowding the molecules and making them more accessible to fluorescent tags.