Zero-mode waveguides for single-molecule analysis at high concentrations

H. J. Levene, J. Korlach, S. W. Turner, M. Foquet, H. G. Craighead, W. W. Webb

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

1199 Scopus citations

Abstract

Optical approaches for observing the dynamics of single molecules have required pico- to nanomolar concentrations of fluorophore in order to isolate individual molecules. However, many biologically relevant processes occur at micromolar ligand concentrations, necessitating a reduction in the conventional observation volume by three orders of magnitude. We show that arrays of zero-mode waveguides consisting of subwavelength holes in a metal film provide a simple and highly parallel means for studying single-molecule dynamics at micromolar concentrations with microsecond temporal resolution. We present observations of DNA polymerase activity as an example of the effectiveness of zero-mode waveguides for performing single-molecule experiments at high concentrations.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)682-686
Number of pages5
JournalScience
Volume299
Issue number5607
DOIs
StatePublished - Jan 31 2003

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General

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