Stanford researchers have developed a patented microscopy method which can provide chemical identification of molecular structures with radiation spectroscopy at nanometer or near-atomic scales, which is one of the most challenging problems in microscopy.
W.E. Moerner and Adam Cohen have patented the Anti-Brownian ELectrokinetic trap (ABEL trap) which can trap, measure, and manipulate sub-micron objects (e.g. single molecules) in solution at ambient temperature.