Abstract
The fast, efficient detection and separation of minute quantities of biologically important molecules plays a central role in a variety of fields, such as molecular biology, biotechnology, immunology, medical diagnostics, and forensic analysis. It has proven difficult to identify and separate biomolecules at such low concentrations by existing means. Thus, it is of importance to develop methods that are able to probe such low concentrations with adequate sensitivity, resolution and ease. Here, we describe a new method for detecting and identifying individual fluorescent molecules in solution. The technique involves the measurement of electrophoretic velocities of individual molecules in a mixture, and identification by comparison with the electrophoretic velocity known to be characteristic of a particular molecular species. The application of the method to the detection and size identification of DNA restriction fragments in solution at the single molecule level has been demonstrated. In a similar experiment, the electrophoretic velocities of single molecules of the protein phycoerythrin was determined. Although we have focused on the detection and identification of biologically important molecules, the technique has the potential to find applications in organic and inorganic chemical analysis.
© 1994 Optical Society of America
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