- In order to probe the conformation, dynamics, oligomeric state and kinetics of biological macromolecules we have built a custom single-molecule confocal microscope with time-correlated single-photon capabilities. The ‘scope has a number of features that make it convenient for probing protein-protein interactions:
- 488 nm picosecond diode laser excitation
- 594 nm CW laser excitation
- idQuantique ultra-low-noise SPAD detectors with up to 4 channel capability (currently 2 are implemented)
- Multi-SPC-150 TCSPC electronics
- Fully automated

Protein folding
Proteins are known to adopt specific (but dynamic) three-dimensional structures that allow them to carry out their function. It is well recognized that this process doesn’t occur by a random search but is instead a biased search. We are interested in understanding the factors that guide the protein to the correct structure or set of structures.