Single-molecule experimentとは 意味・読み方・使い方

A single-molecule experiment investigates the properties of an individual molecule that can be distinguished for the purpose of an experiment or analysis. Single-molecule studies may be contrasted with measurements on an ensemble or bulk collection of molecules, where the individual behavior can not be distinguished, and only average characteristics can be measured. Since many measurement techniques in biology, chemistry and physics are not sensitive and cannot observe single molecules, single-molecule fluorescence techniques (that have emerged since the 90s for probing various processes on the level of individual molecules) caused a lot of excitement, since these supplied many new details on the measured processes that were not accessible in the past. Indeed, since the 90s, many techniques for probing individual molecules were developed. Examples for systems and such experimental’s techniques include: the movement of myosin on actin filaments in muscle tissue or the details of individual local environments in solids studied using spectroscopy. Biological polymers' conformations measured using an atomic force microscopy (AFM). Using force spectroscopy, single molecules (or couples of interacting molecules), usually polymers, can be mechanically stretched and their elastic response recorded in real time. Recordings of ion channels (patch clamp experiments) were the first example for single molecule experiments (these were performed since the 70s), yet these were limited for the particular system of an ion-channel.