Abstract

We monitored the fluorescence emission rate of single dye molecules on dry surface with the near field scanning optical microscope (NSOM)[1]. A Texas Red fluorophore was covalently attached to a short sUand of a DNA molecule and bound to an amino-propyl-silanized glass coverslip[2]. After imaging, the NSOM probe was stationed over a single molecule and its emission rate was recorded as function of time until its photodestruction. Counts were integrated for 5 - 20 ms and typical count rates were 5 - 30 kHz. A typical emission time trace is shown in Fig-1

© 1996 Optical Society of America