Label-free detection and profiling of individual solution-phase molecules

Nature (2024)

 

A research team have developed a method for observing individual molecules. The method offers unprecedented detail about molecular shapes in solution.

The team used special high-quality optical microcavities to detect single molecules with very high sensitivity, even when the molecules are unlabeled and freely moving in solution. The technique also allows researchers to identify different types of molecules in mixed samples.

Researchers found a direct relationship between the time a molecule takes to pass through the detection area and its size, which helps scientists understand how molecules move and change shape in solution. The method can even distinguish between molecules that have the same weight and composition but different shapes.

This new technique can significantly advance our understanding of molecular shapes, diversity, and dynamics in the fields of life and chemical sciences. It could even be used for quantum sensing in the coming years.

The paper authors are Lisa-Maria Needham, Carlos Saavedra, Julia Rasch, Daniel Sole-Barber, Beau Schweitzer, Alex Fairhall, Cecilia Vollbrecht, Sushu Wan, Yulia Podorova, Anders Bergsten, Brandon Mehlenbacher, Zhao Zhang, Lukas Tenbrake, Jovanna Saimi, Lucy Kneely, Jackson Kirkwood, Hannes Pfeifer, Edwin Chapman and Randall Goldsmith, who conducted this work at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, the University of Cambridge and Universität Bonn.