Room-Temperature Detection of a Single Molecule's Absorption by Photothermal Contrast

So far, single-molecule imaging has predominantly relied on fluorescence detection. We imaged single nonfluorescent azo dye molecules in room-temperature glycerol by the refractive effect of the heat that they release in their environment upon intense illumination. This photothermal technique provid...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Science (American Association for the Advancement of Science) 2010-10, Vol.330 (6002), p.353-356
Main Authors: Gaiduk, A, Yorulmaz, M, Ruijgrok, P.V, Orrit, M
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Absorption
Absorption cross sections
Bleaching
Blinking
Chromophores
Dyes
Exact sciences and technology
Fluorescence
General equipment and techniques
Glycerols
Histograms
Illumination
Instruments, apparatus, components and techniques common to several branches of physics and astronomy
Laser beams
Light refraction
Molecules
Photons
Physics
Pumps
Scientific imaging
Sensors (chemical, optical, electrical, movement, gas, etc.)
remote sensing
Signal to noise ratio
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Summary:So far, single-molecule imaging has predominantly relied on fluorescence detection. We imaged single nonfluorescent azo dye molecules in room-temperature glycerol by the refractive effect of the heat that they release in their environment upon intense illumination. This photothermal technique provides contrast for the absorbing objects only, irrespective of scattering by defects or roughness, with a signal-to-noise ratio of approximately 10 for a single molecule in an integration time of 300 milliseconds. In the absence of oxygen, virtually no bleaching event was observed, even after more than 10 minutes of illumination. In a solution saturated with oxygen, the average bleaching time was of the order of 1 minute. No blinking was observed in the absorption signal. On the basis of bleaching steps, we obtained an average absorption cross section of 4 angstroms² for a single chromophore.
ISSN:0036-8075
1095-9203
DOI:10.1126/science.1195475