Chemistry Faculty Publications

Acquiring a Nano-View of Single Molecules in Actions

Document Type

Article

Abstract

In 1959, Nobel laureate Richard Feynman suggested that ‘there is plenty of room at the bottom,’ predicting the possibility of single-molecule detection and studies. Over the last 20 years, we have witnessed a rapid development in single-molecule spectroscopy. Single-molecule spectroscopy and imaging have been demonstrated to be a powerful molecular analytical approach to studying the complex and inhomogeneous chemical, biological, and physical processes involved in protein dynamics, protein-protein interactions, protein-DNA interaction dynamics, biological and chemical catalyses, and interfacial dynamics. The discipline of single-molecule spectroscopy has been expanded across a broad range, including optical imaging, optical spectroscopy of fluorescence and Raman, atomic force spectroscopy, and various forms of scanning probe microscopy. A significant feature of this exciting development is that single-molecule spectroscopy is developing hand-in-hand with the recent advancements in nanotechnology, imaging technologies, ultrafast dynamics technologies, theoretical modeling and analyses, and computational technologies.

Publisher's Statement

Availability via databases maintained by the United States National Library of Medicine.

Publication Date

2-2010

Publication Title

Nano Reviews

DOI

https://doi.org/10.3402/nano.v1i0.5052

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