Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41062474›Full record

ArticleNature communications2025

Direct single-molecule detection and super-resolution imaging with a low-cost portable smartphone-based microscope.

Morgane Loretan, Mariano Barella, Nathan Fuchs, Samet Kocabey, Karol Kołątaj, Fernando D Stefani, Guillermo P Acuna

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Nature communications, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
8citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

8 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Nanorulers for Super-Resolution Microscopy.Chembiochem : a European journal of chemical biology · 2026
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors.

Morgane LoretanDepartment of Physics, Faculty of Science and Medicine, University of Fribourg, Fribourg, Switzerland.
Mariano BarellaDepartment of Physics, Faculty of Science and Medicine, University of Fribourg, Fribourg, Switzerland. mariano.barella@unifr.ch.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-4886-9445
Nathan FuchsDepartment of Physics, Faculty of Science and Medicine, University of Fribourg, Fribourg, Switzerland.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-5922-2957
Samet KocabeySwiss National Center for Competence in Research (NCCR) Bio-inspired Materials, University of Fribourg, Fribourg, Switzerland.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-3159-4855
Karol KołątajDepartment of Physics, Faculty of Science and Medicine, University of Fribourg, Fribourg, Switzerland.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-9167-0672
Fernando D StefaniCentro de Investigaciones en Bionanociencias (CIBION), Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET) and Departamento de Física, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, Argentina. fernando.stefani@df.uba.ar.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-3277-7215
Guillermo P AcunaDepartment of Physics, Faculty of Science and Medicine, University of Fribourg, Fribourg, Switzerland. guillermo.acuna@unifr.ch.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-8066-2677

Funding

Schweizerischer Nationalfonds zur Förderung der Wissenschaftlichen Forschung (Swiss National Science Foundation) 200021_184687Schweizerischer Nationalfonds zur Förderung der Wissenschaftlichen Forschung (Swiss National Science Foundation) 51NF40_182881
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Detecting single molecules, which represents the ultimate level of sensitivity, is typically achieved with research-grade equipment. Here we present a low-cost, portable smartphone-based fluorescence microscope capable of detecting single-molecule fluorescence directly, i.e., without the need for any signal amplification. The setup leverages the image sensors and data handling capacity of mass-produced smartphones, it is adaptable to different smartphones and capable of detecting single molecules across the visible spectral range. We showcase this capability through single-molecule measurements on DNA origami models and super-resolution microscopy of cells by single-molecule localization microscopy. Last, we illustrate its potential as a point-of-care (POC) device by implementing a single-molecule bioassay for RNA detection. This development paves the way for innovative applications of massively distributed or personalized assays with single-molecule sensitivity in various fields such as digital bioassays, POC diagnostics, field expeditions, STEM outreach, and life science education.

Indexed as

Single Molecule ImagingSmartphoneDNAHumansMicroscopy, FluorescencePoint-of-Care SystemsRNADNARNA

Identifiers

PMID41062474
PMCPMC12508040

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.