High-Precision Tracking with Non-blinking Quantum Dots Resolves Nanoscale Vertical Displacement
Date
Authors
Major Professor
Advisor
Committee Member
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Authors
Research Projects
Organizational Units
Journal Issue
Is Version Of
Versions
Series
Department
Abstract
Novel non-blinking quantum dots (NBQDs) were utilized in three-dimensional super-localization, high-precision tracking applications under an automated scanning-angle total internal reflection fluorescence microscope (SA-TIRFM). NBQDs were randomly attached to stationary microtubules along the radial axis under gliding assay conditions. By automatically scanning through a wide range of incident angles with different evanescent-field layer thicknesses, the fluorescence intensity decay curves were obtained. Fit with theoretical decay functions, the absolute vertical positions were determined with sub-10-nm localization precision. The emission intensity profile of the NBQDs attached to kinesin-propelled microtubules was used to resolve the self-rotation of gliding microtubules within a small vertical distance of ~50 nm. We demonstrate the applicability of NBQDs in high-precision fluorescence imaging experiments.
Comments
Reprinted (adapted) with permission from Journal of the American Chemical Society 134 (2012): 6108, doi:10.1021/ja301332t. Copyright 2012 American Chemical Society.