A Chinese research team has recently made a major breakthrough in microscopic imaging technology. The Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences has successfully developed a "quantum super-resolution microscope" with completely independent intellectual property rights. This instrument achieves a resolution of 0.1 nanometers for live biological samples—equivalent to one-millionth the diameter of a human hair. The findings were published today in the prestigious international journal Nature Biotechnology.

Traditional super-resolution microscopy has been limited by the "Abbe diffraction limit," making it difficult to observe structures smaller than 200 nanometers. The newly developed quantum super-resolution microscope employs innovative quantum dot labeling technology and quantum correlation measurement methods to successfully break through this physical barrier. By leveraging quantum entanglement properties and processing quantum signals with specialized algorithms, the device improves resolution by three orders of magnitude.

Using this microscope, the research team has, for the first time, successfully captured real-time dynamic processes of protein molecules within living cells. During experiments, researchers clearly observed conformational changes in proteins within the mitochondrial inner membrane and the assembly process of microtubule proteins during cell division. These discoveries will provide critical insights for cancer treatment and drug development.

The microscope holds significant application value across multiple fields:

Professor Li, the project's lead scientist, stated, "This technology allows us to observe molecular details of life activities as if watching a movie. It will greatly advance the development of precision medicine and fundamental biological research."

Currently, the research team is collaborating with medical device companies to promote the industrialization of this technology. The first commercial prototype is expected to be released by the end of 2025, positioning China to transition from following to leading in the field of high-precision microscopic instrumentation.

This research received support from the National Natural Science Foundation of China's Major Research Instrument Development Project, with 28 domestic and international patents filed for related technologies.