From iSCAT To SCATTIRSTORM: Adventures In Single-Molecule Microscopy

In this presentation given at the 2021 Biophysical Society Annual Meetings, William O. Hancock of Penn State University describes the design and application of two multi-modal microscopes built around the Mad City Labs RM21^® single molecule microscope. 

The first system combines Interferometric Scattering (iSCAT) microscopy with Total Internal Reflection Dark-Field (TIRDM). These tools have the potential to be applied broadly to single-molecule studies to increase the temporal resolution beyond what is traditionally accessible by fluorescence, while still maintaining the spatial resolution provided by point-spread function fitting. The second system combines Interference Reflection Microscopy (IRM) to image cellulose micro- and nanofibers with TIRF to simultaneously image fluorescently-labeled cellulase enzymes degrading the cellulose.