Homebuilt single-molecule scanning confocal fluorescence microscope studies of single DNA/protein interactions.

ABSTRACT: Many technical improvements in fluorescence microscopy over the years have focused on decreasing background and increasing the signal to noise ratio (SNR). The scanning confocal fluorescence microscope (SCFM) represented a major improvement in these efforts. The SCFM acquires signal from a thin layer of a thick sample, rejecting light whose origin is not in the focal plane thereby dramatically decreasing the background signal. A second major innovation was the advent of high quantum-yield, low noise, single-photon counting detectors. The superior background rejection of SCFM combined with low-noise, high-yield detectors makes it possible to detect the fluorescence from single-dye molecules. By labeling a DNA molecule or a DNA/protein complex with a donor/acceptor dye pair, fluorescence res

SUBMITTER: Zheng H 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC1853322 | biostudies-literature | 2007 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature