Figure 4. Effect of experimental parameters on accuracy of phototransformation yield's retrieval.

In each panel, extracted phototransformation yields are plotted against a key experimental parameter (signal to noise ratio per molecule (A), frametime (B), laser power (C), molecular density per frame (D), fraction of photoconverted molecules (E) and total number of photoconverted molecules (F)). In each case, PALM datasets were simulated using parameters of Table S1 (except for the varying parameter). Black: bleaching yield, blue: blinking-off yield, gray: blinking-on rate, red: photoconversion yield. Yield retrieval accuracy is estimated by the logarithm of the ratio between true and extracted yields and error bars represent fitting errors (with 95% confidence). In D, the insets show representative simulated frames at molecular densities of 1 and 8 active molecules per frame per square micron, respectively. In E, only the extracted photoconversion yield is shown, as the input parameter is not relevant to bleaching and blinking. In F, conversely, only extracted bleaching and blinking yields are represented. Experimental data discussed in this work have been obtained within ranges of conditions indicated by braces and/or black arrows. Molecular densities per frame cannot be easily assessed for experimental data and therefore reported values are only indicative.