May 30, 2024 This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlightedthe following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: fact-checked peer-reviewed publication trusted source proofread by Will Cushman, University of Wisconsin-Madison Scientists at the University of Wisconsin–Madison have developed the most sensitive method yet for detecting and profiling a single molecule—unlocking a new tool that holds potential for better understanding how the building blocks of matter interact with each other. The new method could have implications for pursuits as varied as drug discovery and the development of advanced materials.
The technical achievement , detailed this month in the journal Nature , marks a significant advance in the burgeoning field of observing individual molecules without the aid of fluorescent labels. While these labels are useful in many applications, they alter molecules in ways that can obscure how they naturally interact with one another. The new label-free method makes the molecules so easy to detect, it is almost as if they had labels.
"We're very excited about this," says Randall Goldsmith, a UW–Madison professor of chemistry who led the work. "Capturing behaviors at the level of single molecules is an amazingly informative way of understanding complex systems, and if you can build new tools that grant better access to that perspective, those tools can be really powerful." While rese.
