Colloidal lenses allow high-temperature single-molecule imaging and improve fluorophore photostability.

ABSTRACT: Although single-molecule fluorescence spectroscopy was first demonstrated at near-absolute zero temperatures (1.8 K), the field has since advanced to include room-temperature observations, largely owing to the use of objective lenses with high numerical aperture, brighter fluorophores and more sensitive detectors. This has opened the door for many chemical and biological systems to be studied at native temperatures at the single-molecule level both in vitro and in vivo. However, it is difficult to study systems and phenomena at temperatures above 37 degrees C, because the index-matching fluids used with high-numerical-aperture objective lenses can conduct heat from the sample to the lens, and sustained exposure to high temperatures can cause the lens to fail. Here, we report that TiO(2) co

SUBMITTER: Schwartz JJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4141882 | biostudies-literature | 2010 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature