Computational Microscopy Beyond the Diffraction Limit

Our Research

We develop and apply advanced light-microscopic methods to visualize biomedical processes at the sub-micrometer and nanometer scale. Our work focuses on techniques with spatial resolution beyond the classical diffraction limit, including linear and nonlinear structured illumination, stochastic reconstruction microscopy, and interferometric approaches. Light serves as a non-destructive sensor, enabling the precise investigation of dynamic processes in biological systems.

A key defining feature of our department is the close integration of experimental microscopy with computational image reconstruction. Novel microscopic techniques are developed in tandem with model-based and machine-learning evaluation algorithms. These include fluorescence polarization microscopy as well as label-free imaging approaches, for example based on Raman scattering. The combination of hardware development, GPU-accelerated data processing, and software implemented in open-source programming languages enables quantitative and reproducible analysis of complex image data.

Our research is driven by biological and medical questions. We work closely with the life and health sciences to optimize instruments and methods for application-oriented use, particularly in infection research. In addition, we develop low-cost, modular, and open microscopy systems that facilitate access to high-performance imaging and support the reproducibility of biological experiments.

Prof. Dr. Rainer Heintzmann

Head of Department
+49 3641 206431
rainer.heintzmann@leibniz-ipht.de

Jana Schaarschmidt

Assistant
+49 3641 206101
jana.schaarschmidt@leibniz-ipht.de

Research Focus Areas

Super-Resolution
Fluorescence Microscopy

Fluoreszenzbasierte Mikroskopie mit höchster räumlicher Auflösung, einschließlich linearer und nichtlinearer strukturierter Beleuchtung (SIM), Einzelmoleküllokalisierungsmikroskopie (SMLM), ISM-STED (Image Scanning Microscopy Combined with Stimulated Emission Depletion Microscopy) und interferometrischer Verfahren zur Analyse nanoskaliger Strukturen

Polarization &
Anisotropic Imaging

Two-dimensional polarization-resolved fluorescence microscopy for investigating anisotropic structures and molecular order in biological systems, combined with nanoscale infrared imaging (photo-induced force microscopy, PiFM)

Computational Imaging
& Image Reconstruction

Development of model-based and machine-learning algorithms for image processing, reconstruction, and quantitative analysis of microscopic data

Smart & High-Throughput
Microscopy

Integration of hardware and software into automated, adaptively reconfigurable microscopy systems

Multimodal & Hyperspectral
Imaging

Further development of hyperspectral Raman microscopy for advanced chemical and structural characterization

Development of Coherent
Imaging Techniques

Development of new approaches to optical coherence tomography (OCT)/holoscopy and ptychography based on second-harmonic radiation generated coherently within the sample

Collaborations and Networks

The Microscopy research department is closely embedded in national and international research networks and works interdisciplinarily with partners from biology, medicine, and physics. It contributed its expertise in high-resolution, quantitative imaging and computational data analysis to the Cluster of Excellence Balance of the Microverse and was involved in the Collaborative Research Centers NOA and Polytarget at the University of Jena.

At the Leibniz Center for Photonics in Infection Research (LPI), we further develop microscopic techniques and image reconstruction methods for the investigation of pathogen-associated processes. Close collaborations with biological and medical research groups enable early validation of new methods on relevant research questions and strengthen light microscopy as a key technology for biomedical research.

Within Leibniz IPHT, we collaborate primarily with the departments of Spectroscopy and Imaging on Raman imaging, Nanobiophotonics on plasmonic assays, Fiber Research and Technology in the field of coherent imaging, and Biophysical Imaging with a focus on high-resolution fluorescence microscopy.