{
  "abstract": "Super-resolution correlative light and electron microscopy (SR-CLEM) allows mapping biomolecular localization onto native cellular ultrastructure with nanometer precision. However, its broad application remains largely restricted to single-color imaging, mainly because fluorophores undergo fluorescence loss and/or chemical degradation under the harsh conditions required for EM sample preparation. Here, we overcome this barrier with chemically robust fluorophores that exhibit intrinsic, buffer-free blinking across diverse conditions, including osmium tetroxide (OsO 4 )-treated and epoxy-embedded environments, enabling single-molecule localization microscopy (SMLM) directly on EM-prepared sections. Using these probes, we demonstrate the first dual-color SR-CLEM of endogenous proteins on the same ultrathin section. Photophysical analyses attribute OsO 4 -induced fluorescence attenuation primarily to distance-dependent photoinduced electron transfer/FRET quenching and an inner-filter absorption by reduced osmium species, rather than irreversible chemical degradation. This work develops a practical SR-CLEM platform based on a set of tailored organic fluorophores and provides a rational photophysical framework for designing next-generation EM-compatible probes with universal, durable intrinsic blinking properties, enabling a broad range of advanced correlative nanoscopy.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research, Ackermannweg 10, Mainz, Germany, 55128",
    "Frontier Institute of Science and Technology",
    "Xi'an Jiaotong University",
    "Institute of Molecular Biology gGmbH, Ackermannweg 4, Mainz, Germany, 55128",
    "Optical Neuroimaging Unit",
    "Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University",
    "Katz Group Centre",
    "University of Alberta",
    "Organic and Carbon Nanomaterials Unit",
    "Madrid Institute for Advanced Studies, IMDEA Nanoscience, C/Faraday 9, Madrid, Spain, 28049",
    "Key Laboratory for Micro-Nano Optoelectronic Devices of Ministry of Education, School of Physics and Electronics, Hunan University, Changsha, 410082, China."
  ],
  "article_type": null,
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 18,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Xingfu Zhu"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        1,
        2
      ],
      "name": "Ze-Hua Wu"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Xin Zhou"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Anke Kaltbeitzel"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Yu-Liang Tsai"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        3
      ],
      "name": "Márton Gelléri"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        3
      ],
      "name": "Christoph Cremer"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        4,
        5
      ],
      "name": "Bruno M. Humbel"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        6,
        7
      ],
      "name": "Hilmar Strickfaden"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Qiqi Yang"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Ingo Lieberwirth"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1,
        2
      ],
      "name": "Chen Li"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        8,
        5
      ],
      "name": "Akimitsu Narita"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Klaus Müllen"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        9
      ],
      "name": "Johannes Gierschner"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        10
      ],
      "name": "Yungui Li"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Mischa Bonn"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Xiaomin Liu",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-6225-6322"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/6b2gzv2srjhm7.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.26434/chemrxiv.15002829/v2",
  "fulltext_url": null,
  "id": "6b2gzv2srjhm7",
  "issns": [],
  "landing_url": "https://chemrxiv.org/doi/full/10.26434/chemrxiv.15002829/v2",
  "language": null,
  "licence": "CC-BY",
  "licence_label": "CC BY",
  "licence_source": "journal",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "openalex",
      "1304|Advanced Fluorescence Microscopy Techniques"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7212270670",
  "pdf_url": "https://chemrxiv.org/doi/pdf/10.26434/chemrxiv.15002829/v2",
  "pmcid": null,
  "pmid": null,
  "published": "2026-09-11",
  "publisher": "American Chemical Society (ACS)",
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/6b2gzv2srjhm7.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:17:19Z",
      "native_id": "10.26434/chemrxiv.15002829",
      "source": "chemrxiv",
      "url": "https://chemrxiv.org/doi/full/10.26434/chemrxiv.15002829/v2"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "biochemistry",
      "origin": "openalex:1304|Advanced Fluorescence Microscopy Techniques",
      "subfield": "biophysics"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Environment-Tolerant Blinking Fluorophores Enable Dual-Color Super-Resolution Correlative Light and Electron Microscopy",
  "title_text": "Environment-Tolerant Blinking Fluorophores Enable Dual-Color Super-Resolution Correlative Light and Electron Microscopy",
  "type": "preprint",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-30T12:17:19Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/6b2gzv2srjhm7",
  "venue": "ChemRxiv",
  "versions": []
}