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Access through your institution Buy or subscribe Optical microscopes can typically not be used to observe biological structures, such as nucleic acids and proteins, at the nanoscale owing to
the diffraction limit of visible light. However, by covalently attaching biological molecules to a water-swellable hydrogel that can be expanded, molecules can be physically magnified to
observe nanoscale features with an optical microscope — a technique called expansion microscopy. Now, reporting in _Nature Biotechnology_, Yongxin Zhao and team developed an expansion
microscopy technique, termed Magnify, that does not require a separate anchoring step, achieving a resolution comparable to super-resolution imaging techniques. Inspired by paraformaldehyde
fixation, which is commonly used to preserve biomolecules in tissue, the researchers used methacrolein to incorporate biomolecules in a polymeric gel during gelation. Methacrolein modifies
biomolecules similarly to formaldehyde while providing an isopropenyl functional group that participates in the in situ polymerization step. Biological samples gelled with the
methacrolein-containing monomer solution expand after protease digestion and can then be observed using a conventional optical microscope. This is a preview of subscription content, access
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ACCESS OPTIONS: * Log in * Learn about institutional subscriptions * Read our FAQs * Contact customer support REFERENCES ORIGINAL ARTICLE * Klimas, A. et al. Magnify is a universal molecular
anchoring strategy for expansion microscopy. _Nat. Biotechnol._ https://doi.org/10.1038/s41587-022-01546-1 (2023) Article Google Scholar Download references AUTHOR INFORMATION AUTHORS AND
AFFILIATIONS * Nature Reviews Bioengineering https://www.nature.com/natrevbioeng/ Christine-Maria Horejs Authors * Christine-Maria Horejs View author publications You can also search for
this author inPubMed Google Scholar CORRESPONDING AUTHOR Correspondence to Christine-Maria Horejs. RIGHTS AND PERMISSIONS Reprints and permissions ABOUT THIS ARTICLE CITE THIS ARTICLE
Horejs, CM. Magnifying down to the nanoscale. _Nat Rev Bioeng_ 1, 85 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s44222-023-00028-6 Download citation * Published: 20 January 2023 * Issue Date: February
2023 * DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s44222-023-00028-6 SHARE THIS ARTICLE Anyone you share the following link with will be able to read this content: Get shareable link Sorry, a shareable
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