Single-molecule detection Fluorescence imaging

The first report of single molecule detection in an optical microscopy under ambient conditions was that of Betzig and Chichester [13]. The most striking aspect of their single molecule fluorescence images, reproduced in Fig. 3(a), is the variety of shapes. Except for the occasional photobleaching event which resulted in the disappearance... 

CE Talley, MA Lee, RC Dunn. Single molecule detection and underwater fluorescence imaging with cantilevered near-field fiber optic probes. Appl Phys Lett 72 2954-2956, 1998. 

Talley, C. E., M. A. Lee and R. C. Dunn (1998). "Single molecule detection and underwater fluorescence imaging widi rmitilevered near-field fiber optic probes." Applied Physics Letters 72(23) 2954-2956. 

Figure Bl.22.11. Near-field scanning optical microscopy fluorescence image of oxazine molecules dispersed on a PMMA film surface. Each protuberance in this three-dimensional plot corresponds to the detection of a single molecule, the different intensities of those features being due to different orientations of the molecules. Sub-diffraction resolution, in this case on the order of a fraction of a micron, can be achieved by the near-field scaiming arrangement. Spectroscopic characterization of each molecule is also possible. (Reprinted with pennission from [82]. Copyright 1996 American Chemical Society.)...

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