π-Conjugated organosilanes at the nexus of single-molecule electronics and imaging

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lan D. Pham ◽  
Nhien Q. Nguyen ◽  
Matthew O. Hight ◽  
Timothy A. Su
Keyword(s):  
Physical Properties ◽  
Single Molecule ◽  
Single Molecule Imaging ◽  
Molecular Materials ◽  
Orbital Interactions ◽  
Single Molecule Electronics

This article explores the fundamental σ-π orbital interactions that underlie the physical properties of conjugated organosilane molecular materials in single-molecule electronics and single-molecule imaging.

Label-free, mass-sensitive single-molecule imaging using interferometric scattering microscopy

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nikolas Hundt
Keyword(s):  
Single Molecule ◽  
Cellular Systems ◽  
Single Molecule Imaging ◽  
Label Free ◽  
Measurement Sensitivity ◽  
Mass Distributions ◽  
Quantitative Measurements ◽  
Contrast Mechanism ◽  
Cellular Components ◽  
Scattering Signal

Abstract Single-molecule imaging has mostly been restricted to the use of fluorescence labelling as a contrast mechanism due to its superior ability to visualise molecules of interest on top of an overwhelming background of other molecules. Recently, interferometric scattering (iSCAT) microscopy has demonstrated the detection and imaging of single biomolecules based on light scattering without the need for fluorescent labels. Significant improvements in measurement sensitivity combined with a dependence of scattering signal on object size have led to the development of mass photometry, a technique that measures the mass of individual molecules and thereby determines mass distributions of biomolecule samples in solution. The experimental simplicity of mass photometry makes it a powerful tool to analyse biomolecular equilibria quantitatively with low sample consumption within minutes. When used for label-free imaging of reconstituted or cellular systems, the strict size-dependence of the iSCAT signal enables quantitative measurements of processes at size scales reaching from single-molecule observations during complex assembly up to mesoscopic dynamics of cellular components and extracellular protrusions. In this review, I would like to introduce the principles of this emerging imaging technology and discuss examples that show how mass-sensitive iSCAT can be used as a strong complement to other routine techniques in biochemistry.

A Molecular Logic Gate Enables Super-Resolved Imaging of Intracellular Lipid Droplets

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adam Eördögh ◽  
Carolina Paganini ◽  
Dorothea Pinotsi ◽  
Paolo Arosio ◽  
Pablo Rivera-Fuentes
Keyword(s):  
Single Molecule ◽  
Lipid Droplets ◽  
Neutral Lipids ◽  
Logic Gate ◽  
Living Cells ◽  
Three Dimensions ◽  
Single Molecule Imaging ◽  
Molecular Logic Gate ◽  
Molecular Logic ◽  
Cellular Compartments

<div>Photoactivatable dyes enable single-molecule imaging in biology. Despite progress in the development of new fluorophores and labeling strategies, many cellular compartments remain difficult to image beyond the limit of diffraction in living cells. For example, lipid droplets, which are organelles that contain mostly neutral lipids, have eluded single-molecule imaging. To visualize these challenging subcellular targets, it is necessary to develop new fluorescent molecular devices beyond simple on/off switches. Here, we report a fluorogenic molecular logic gate that can be used to image single molecules associated with lipid droplets with excellent specificity. This probe requires the subsequent action of light, a lipophilic environment and a competent nucleophile to produce a fluorescent product. The combination of these requirements results in a probe that can be used to image the boundary of lipid droplets in three dimensions with resolutions beyond the limit of diffraction. Moreover, this probe enables single-molecule tracking of lipids within and between droplets in living cells.</div>

The localized electron: magnetic properties

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jean-Pierre Launay ◽  
Michel Verdaguer
Keyword(s):  
Single Molecule ◽  
Model Systems ◽  
Ferromagnetic Coupling ◽  
Single Chain ◽  
Single Molecule Magnets ◽  
Magnetic Systems ◽  
Orbital Interactions ◽  
Prussian Blue Analogues ◽  
Mononuclear Complexes

After preliminaries about electron properties, and definitions in magnetism, one treats the magnetism of mononuclear complexes, in particular spin cross-over, showing the role of cooperativity and the sensitivity to external perturbations. Orbital interactions and exchange interaction are explained in binuclear model systems, using orbital overlap and orthogonality concepts to explain antiferromagnetic or ferromagnetic coupling. The phenomenologically useful Spin Hamiltonian is defined. The concepts are then applied to extended molecular magnetic systems, leading to molecular magnetic materials of various dimensionalities exhibiting bulk ferro- or ferrimagnetism. An illustration is provided by Prussian Blue analogues. Magnetic anisotropy is introduced. It is shown that in some cases, a slow relaxation of magnetization arises and gives rise to appealing single-ion magnets, single-molecule magnets or single-chain magnets, a route to store information at the molecular level.

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