Accessing the Nanoscale With Light
Event details
| Date | 11.12.2025 |
| Hour | 09:00 › 10:00 |
| Speaker | Francisco Balzarotti, Ph.D., Research Institute of Molecular Pathology (IMP), Vienna (AT) |
| Location | Online |
| Category | Conferences - Seminars |
| Event Language | English |
2-DAY BIOE MINI-SYMPOSIUM on Measurement Technologies
(talk four / previous talk / next talk)
Abstract:
Understanding how biological molecules are organized and how they move inside cells requires measurement technologies that combine nanometer spatial resolution, millisecond temporal precision, and compatibility with native environments. Classical fluorescence microscopy achieves specificity but is fundamentally constrained by diffraction and photon budgets. Over the last decade, MINFLUX has shown that these limits can be redefined by exploiting the geometry of information in optics—extracting far more positional information from each detected photon than was previously possible.
In this seminar, I will present the trajectory of this concept and its recent expansions, including new beam-shaping strategies, fast interferometric axial scanning, and multi-emitter MINFLUX detection schemes. I will show how these technologies open access to previously inaccessible biological questions, such as the three-dimensional ultrastructure of native mRNA in intact cells and the conformational dynamics of protein complexes. I will conclude with a forward-looking perspective on next-generation nanoscale optical measurement technologies for biology.
Bio:
Francisco Balzarotti is a Group Leader at the Research Institute of Molecular Pathology (IMP) in Vienna. He received his degree in Electrical Engineering and his PhD from the University of Buenos Aires, working on plasmonics and optical nanolithography. He later joined the NanoBiophotonics Department at the Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry, led by Nobel Laureate Stefan W. Hell, where he contributed to several super-resolution microscopy methods and introduced MINFLUX, a novel photon-efficient single-molecule localization approach. Established since 2020, his research group combines optics, engineering, computation to develop next-generation tools for measuring molecular structure and dynamics in native environments.
Zoom link for attending remotely, if needed: https://epfl.zoom.us/j/66947851573
(talk four / previous talk / next talk)
Abstract:
Understanding how biological molecules are organized and how they move inside cells requires measurement technologies that combine nanometer spatial resolution, millisecond temporal precision, and compatibility with native environments. Classical fluorescence microscopy achieves specificity but is fundamentally constrained by diffraction and photon budgets. Over the last decade, MINFLUX has shown that these limits can be redefined by exploiting the geometry of information in optics—extracting far more positional information from each detected photon than was previously possible.
In this seminar, I will present the trajectory of this concept and its recent expansions, including new beam-shaping strategies, fast interferometric axial scanning, and multi-emitter MINFLUX detection schemes. I will show how these technologies open access to previously inaccessible biological questions, such as the three-dimensional ultrastructure of native mRNA in intact cells and the conformational dynamics of protein complexes. I will conclude with a forward-looking perspective on next-generation nanoscale optical measurement technologies for biology.
Bio:
Francisco Balzarotti is a Group Leader at the Research Institute of Molecular Pathology (IMP) in Vienna. He received his degree in Electrical Engineering and his PhD from the University of Buenos Aires, working on plasmonics and optical nanolithography. He later joined the NanoBiophotonics Department at the Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry, led by Nobel Laureate Stefan W. Hell, where he contributed to several super-resolution microscopy methods and introduced MINFLUX, a novel photon-efficient single-molecule localization approach. Established since 2020, his research group combines optics, engineering, computation to develop next-generation tools for measuring molecular structure and dynamics in native environments.
Zoom link for attending remotely, if needed: https://epfl.zoom.us/j/66947851573
Practical information
- Informed public
- Free
Organizer
- Prof. Georg Fantner, Institute of Bioengineering, School of Engineering, EPFL
Contact
- Institute of Bioengineering (IBI), Dietrich REINHARD