Universal Quantum Standards for Stochastic Biophysics

Abstract

There is great utility in direct observation. It allows for the unequivocal proof that somethingexistence or occurs no matter how rare it may be. Single molecule biophysics is motivated bythis simple idea and has quickly become an essential approach to study how biomoleculesinteract and operate in living systems or in other environments. While this field has gained muchattention in the area of super-resolution imaging, dynamic measurements are still problematic.Particularly, the question of how to deal with intrinsic probe dynamics has been a long-standingproblem. The overwhelming approach to address this problem has been to develop advancedmaterials with reduced blinking and bleaching characteristics or to develop chemical conditionsthat reduce blinking and slow photobleaching. This approach has the benefit of making betterfluorescent probes, but it will never eliminate the intrinsic fluctuational nature of fluorescentmolecules. Therefore, photoblinking and photobleaching dynamics will always be convolutedwith biophysical dynamics in single molecule measurements. The approach presented here is todevelop universal quantum standards, kinetic standards, and mathematical tools to account forthe probe dynamics instead of eliminating them.

Document Details

Document Type
DoD Grant Award
Publication Date
Jun 11, 2018
Source ID
FA95501810344

Entities

People

  • James A Brozik

Organizations

  • Air Force Office of Scientific Research
  • United States Air Force
  • Washington State University

Tags

Fields of Study

  • Physics

Readers

  • Military Logistics and Supply Chain Management
  • Nanoscale Plasmonic Nanotechnology

Technology Areas

  • Biotechnology
  • Quantum Computing