Single molecule techniques comprise a set of experimental methods that detect, manipulate, and analyze individual biomolecules or molecular complexes, circumventing ensemble averaging and revealing heterogeneity in structure, dynamics, and function. Core modalities include single-molecule fluorescence (e.g., smFRET, TIRF microscopy), optical and magnetic tweezers, atomic force microscopy, and nanopore-based sensing. These techniques enable direct measurement of forces, conformational changes, binding/unbinding events, and reaction pathways with nanometer spatial and millisecond (or better) temporal resolution. They are widely applied to study nucleic acid–protein interactions, molecular motors, enzyme kinetics, folding energy landscapes, and mechanotransduction at the level of individual molecules.
Scientists often describe life as a series of chemical reactions. Pallav Kosuri, Ph.D., describes life as movement. Chemical reactions are how you drive the movement of atoms, proteins, cells and bodies—without movement, ...
Biotechnology
Aug 14, 2026
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University of Wollongong (UOW) scientists have uncovered, for the first time, exactly how two of the cell's "helper" proteins operate as a rescue crew for misfolded proteins, a discovery that sheds new light on the molecular ...
Cell & Microbiology
Aug 3, 2026
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27
Most sensors are designed to do only one thing: detect what passes through them. But what if a sensor could do more? To create a new generation of technology, researchers have looked to living systems for inspiration. If ...
Nanomaterials
Aug 2, 2026
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83
In a study published in Nature Communications biophysicists unravel the mystery of how muscles form at the molecular level and maintain their function. The findings may help design treatments for muscle diseases such as dilated ...
Cell & Microbiology
Jul 30, 2026
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18
A new quantum sensing technique could enable measurements of single protein structures and other important molecules, with potential applications in drug discovery and structural biology. A research team from the Institute ...
Bio & Medicine
Jul 28, 2026
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109
Researchers at the University of Twente have developed an optical method that follows the shape changes of a single protein in liquid without attaching anything to it. It reads the protein's structure from its own molecular ...
Bio & Medicine
Jul 22, 2026
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15
Proteins are responsible for most functions in the human body. However, their analysis, which is essential for understanding diseases, developing drugs and discovering new biomarkers, remains highly complex. Using a technology ...
Bio & Medicine
Jun 29, 2026
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By teaching an AI to use optical tweezers, researchers from the University of Gothenburg and Chalmers University of Technology have sped up the analysis of life's smallest components. The AI platform captures particles, takes ...
Bio & Medicine
Jun 18, 2026
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23
Using an innovative combination of biochemical experiments and ultra-high-resolution microscopy, a research team at Kiel University has solved the long-standing mystery of how the bacterium B. subtilis regulates its cell ...
Cell & Microbiology
Jun 16, 2026
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16
A new single-protein analysis technique gives researchers an unprecedented ability to study proteins called scramblases, which have critical roles in biology. The development of the new technique, in a study led by investigators ...
Cell & Microbiology
Jun 15, 2026
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