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Contract No. DE-AC36-08GO28308

Super-Resolution Optical 

Imaging of Biomass Chemical 

Spatial Structure 

Cooperative Research and Development 

Final Report

CRADA Number: CRD-10-411

NREL Technical Contact: Shi-You Ding

CRADA Report

NREL/TP-7A10-59231

October 2013
NOTICE

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Cover Photos: (left to right) photo by Pat Corkery, NREL 16416, photo from SunEdison, NREL 17423, photo by Pat Corkery, NREL 

16560, photo by Dennis Schroeder, NREL 17613, photo by Dean Armstrong, NREL 17436, photo by Pat Corkery, NREL 17721.

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This report is available at no cost from the 

National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) 

at www.nrel.gov/publications.

Cooperative Research and Development Final Report

In accordance with Requirements set forth in Article XI.A(3) of the CRADA document, this document is 

the final CRADA report, including a list of Subject Inventions, to be forwarded to the Office of Science 

and Technical Information as part of the commitment to the public to demonstrate results of federally 

funded research.

CRADA Number: CRD-10-411

CRADA Title: Super-Resolution Optical Imaging of Biomass Chemical-Spatial Structure

Parties to the Agreement: South Dakota School of Mines

Joint Work Statement Funding Table Showing DOE Commitment: 

Estimated Costs NREL Shared Resources

Year 1 $ 84,000.00

Year 2 $ 8,000.00

TOTALS $ 92,000.00

Abstract of CRADA Work: 

The primary objective of this effort is to develop the capability to apply new single molecule imaging 

methods to the study of plant cell structure and the dynamics of cellulase enzyme activity. 

Summary of Research Results: 

This CRADA supported the development and application of photoactivated localization microscopy 

(PALM) and defocused orientation and position imaging (DOPI) techniques applied to the nanoscale 

imaging of nano-cellulose and its interaction with cellulose enzymes and their derivatives, including:

1) DOPI of GFP fused to CBMs and bound to Valonia nanocellulose microfibrils, and 2) PALM imaging 

of PAmcherry PA-FPs fused to CBMs, bound to Valonia nanocellulose microfibrils. The work was 

reported in the following journal and conference publications (one invited, one contributed):

Journal Papers: 

Dagel, D.; Zhong, L.l Liu, Y.; Ding, S.-Y; Smith, S. (2011). “in situ Defocused Orientation and Position 

Imaging of Single Carbohydrate Binding Modules on Cellulose Microfibrils.” J Phys Chem B. (115:4);

pp. 635-41.

Invited Presentation and Conference Proceedings: 

Smith, S.; Dagel, D.J.; Zhong, L.; Kolla, P.; Ding, S.-Y. “All-optical multi-dimensional imaging of energymaterials beyond the diffraction limit.” SPIE 8306 proceedings; October 11, 2011. Photonics, Devices, and 

Systems V, 83061B. 
2 

This report is available at no cost from the 

National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) 

at www.nrel.gov/publications.

Contributed Presentation and Conference Proceedings: 

Dagel, D.J.; Liu, Y.-S.; Zhong, L.; Luo, Y.; Zeng, Y.; Himmel, M.; Ding, S.-Y.; Smith, S. “DOPI and PALM 

imaging of single carbohydrate binding modules bound to cellulose nanocrystals.” SPIE 7905 proceedings;

February 22, 2011. Single Molecule Spectroscopy and Imaging IV, 79050P.

Subject Inventions Listing: N/A

Report Date: 8/27/2013

Responsible Technical Contact at Alliance/NREL: Shi-You Ding

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