Acquisition of a Confocal Microscopy Facility for Single Molecule Spectroscopy and Dynamics

University Of Rochester, Rochester NY

Investigators

Abstract

With support from the Major Research Instrumentation (MRI) Acquisition Program, the Department of Chemistry at the Unversity of Rochester will construct a confocal optical microscope facility. This will enable the study of single molecules in the near-infrared and by Raman spectroscopy. Transient photoluminescence experiments (picosecond time scale) and fluorescence blinking phenomenon (millisecond to kilosecond) will be investigated. Experiments will be performed on PbSe quantum dots, single polymer chains, proteins in cytochrome c (cyt c), and single carbon nanotubes. This will provide insights on spectral blinking of single molecules and polymer chains, protein folding at the single molecule level, and the photophysics of single carbon nanotubes. The microscope will allow the study of single molecules and nanoparticles under conditions where it is possible to disentangle effects that are ordinarily masked in investigations involving larger numbers of particles. This has the potential to provide important scientific insights that could impact areas in materials science, device fabrication, telecommunications and molecular biology. The instrument will be made available beyond the Chemistry Department with links from the department web pages that will advertise the capabilities of the facility and encourage outside users. The instrument will be available to graduate and undergraduate research students and the Raman set up will be used in undergraduate laboratory classes.