Total internal reflection fluorescence microscopy in single molecule nanobioscience

Abstract

Recent development in total internal reflection fluorescence microscopy (TIRFM) has made it possible to directly monitor the behaviors of biomolecules at the single-molecule level both in vitro and in living cells. This technique has opened a new era in bioscience, so-called single-molecule nanobioscience. In this review, we will summarize the theoretical basis of TIRFM, explain the instruments of TIRFM for single-molecules imaging, and discuss some novel applications of TIRFM to single-molecule nanobioscience. © Springer-Verlag 2005.