Optical Observation Of Single Molecules In Their Natural State
February 5, 2003 | Source: ScienceDaily
Scientists at Cornell University have for the first time optically isolated individual biological molecules in naturally occurring molecular concentrations and watched their complex behavior as they interact with a protein.
The technique, made possible by the ability of nanofabrication to produce a microchip with light-impeding holes with a diameter one-tenth of the wavelength of light, could promise a new method of DNA sequencing by which the genetic code can be “read” from a single DNA molecule.
It also promises to aid in future drug discovery because “it provides a very powerful way of looking at fluctuations and variability in behavior of individual enzyme molecules.”
News tip: Walter Purvis