Nonblinking and long-lasting single-molecule fluorescence imaging.

Rasnik, Ivan; McKinney, Sean A; Ha, Taekjip · Nat Methods · 2006

basic_science · Level V

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Abstract

Photobleaching and blinking of fluorophores pose fundamental limitations on the information content of single-molecule fluorescence measurements. Photoinduced blinking of Cy5 has hampered many previous investigations using this popular fluorophore. Here we show that Trolox in combination with the enzymatic oxygen-scavenging system eliminates Cy5 blinking, dramatically reduces photobleaching and improves the signal linearity at high excitation rates, significantly extending the applicability of single-molecule fluorescence techniques.

Medical subject headings