Increased Throughput Single Molecule Detection of DNA

摘要

In this work, we present research in using confocal optical techniques with femtolitre focal volumes and obtain very high signal-to-noise and signal-to-background ratios for single molecule detection (SMD). We were able to achieve improved signal strength by using highly fluorescent quantum dots and nanopatterned substrates to obtain plasmon induced resonant fluorescence enhancement. A method to simultaneously using multiple excitation spots without the use of confocal apertures and an array of single photon sensitive Geiger mode avalanche photodiodes was used to increase the throughput of the detection system. Using this highly sensitive SMD system, we detect small quantities of synthetic DNA through hybridization eliminating the need of polymerase chain reaction.