Stimulated emission depletion (STED) microscopy has become a useful tool for visualization and dynamic monitoring at an ultra-high resolution in biological research and material science. For STED technology, fluorescent probes are irreplaceable in the imaging process. Among these probes, organic fluorescent probes have superior photo-stability, high brightness, large Stokes’ shifts and excellent biocompatibility, thus are widely applied in STED microscopy. Based on this consideration, this review presents the recent advances on organic fluorescent probes for STED microscopy, including typical organic fluorescent probes, aggregation-induced emission luminogens (AIEgens), polymer dots, and other nanoparticles. The applications of organic fluorescent probes in biological imaging, such as in live-cell, live-tissue, and in vivo imaging, as well as in material monitoring at the nanoscale using STED microscopy, are also included. This review provides the guidelines for the design of new materials that can be used to enhance the imaging performance of STED microscopy, thus leading to real-world applications.

受激发射损耗 (STED) 显微镜已成为生物研究和材料科学中超高分辨率可视化和动态监测的有用工具。对于 STED 技术，荧光探针在成像过程中是不可替代的。在这些探针中，有机荧光探针具有优异的光稳定性、高亮度、大斯托克斯位移和优良的生物相容性，因此在STED显微镜中得到了广泛的应用。基于这一考虑，本综述介绍了 STED 显微镜有机荧光探针的最新进展，包括典型的有机荧光探针、聚集诱导发光 (AIEgens)、聚合物点和其他纳米粒子。有机荧光探针在生物成像中的应用，例如在活细胞、活组织和体内成像中，以及使用 STED 显微镜进行纳米级材料监测，也包括在内。这篇综述为可用于增强 STED 显微镜成像性能的新材料的设计提供了指导，从而实现了实际应用。