Label-free detection and profiling of individual solution-phase molecules.

ABSTRACT: Most chemistry and biology occurs in solution, in which conformational dynamics and complexation underlie behaviour and function. Single-molecule techniques¹ are uniquely suited to resolving molecular diversity and new label-free approaches are reshaping the power of single-molecule measurements. A label-free single-molecule method^2-16 capable of revealing details of molecular conformation in solution^17,18 would allow a new microscopic perspective of unprecedented detail. Here we use the enhanced light-molecule interactions in high-finesse fibre-based Fabry-Pérot microcavities^19-21 to detect individual biomolecules as small as 1.2 kDa, a ten-amino-acid peptide, with signal-to-noise ratios (SNRs) >100, even as the molecules are unlabelled and free

SUBMITTER: Needham LM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11694320 | biostudies-literature | 2024 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature