BIo-Photonics Seminar
Optical Tools that Push the Limits of Single-Molecule Microscopy
Presented by Adam S. Backer, Sandia National Laboratories, New Mexico
In recent years, single-molecule fluorescence microscopy has transformed the field of biological imaging. Using single-molecule localization techniques, it is now possible to image structures an order of magnitude smaller than the classical diffraction limit, thus achieving super-resolution. Such advances have established the fluorescence microscope as a powerful non-invasive imaging technology, and have been recognized, among other methods, with the 2014 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.
My work aims to further extend optical super-resolution and single-molecule imaging. Fluorescent molecules provide a wealth of information about their nanoscale environment. However, most super-resolution applications measure only the two-dimensional positions of single molecules during a typical experiment. By constructing non-traditional optical systems that record additional physical parameters on a molecule-by-molecule basis, additional insight into living systems may be gleaned. In my talk today, I will first present one of my Ph.D. projects developing 3D single-molecule imaging techniques and discuss how this work will further benefit from emerging nanophotonic technologies such as metasurfaces. Next, I will present a recent project combining single-molecule orientation-imaging with optical tweezers and DNA force spectroscopy. Using this unique combination of methods, we have successfully shed new light on a variety of mysterious "overstretched" DNA conformations, which are poorly understood.
2:00 pm, Thursday, February 20, 2020
PAIS-1100, PAIS
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