Room temperature single molecule microscopes
- Los Alamos National Lab., NM (United States)
We have developed three capabilities to image the locations of and interrogate immobilized single fluorescent molecules: near-field scanning optical, confocal scanning optical, and wide-field epi-fluorescence microscopy. Each microscopy has its own advantages. Near-field illumination can beat the diffraction limit. Confocal microscopy has high brightness and temporal resolution. Wide-field has the quickest (parallel) imaging capability. With confocal microscopy, we have verified that single fluorescent spots in our images are due to single molecules by observing photon antibunching. Using all three microscopies, we have observed that xanthene molecules dispersed on dry silica curiously exhibit intensity fluctuations on millisecond to minute time scales. We are exploring the connection between the intensity fluctuations and fluctuations in individual photophysical parameters. The fluorescence lifetimes of Rhodamine 6G on silica fluctuate. The complex nature of the intensity and lifetime fluctuations is consistent with a mechanism that perturbs more than one photophysical parameter.
- OSTI ID:
- 560335
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-970443-; TRN: 97:005895-0265
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: 213. national meeting of the American Chemical Society, San Francisco, CA (United States), 13-17 Apr 1997; Other Information: PBD: 1997; Related Information: Is Part Of 213th ACS national meeting; PB: 2904 p.
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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