Photothermal Microscopy and
Spectroscopy Webinar

The last two decades have demonstrated the insatiable potential of optical techniques for sensitive studies. Optical detection of small nanoparticles and single molecules have often relied on fluorescence, but limited photophysics and the need for labeling pose severe restrictions for the broad application of this approach. The ubiquitous process of Rayleigh scattering offers a powerful alternative. Although the common intuition might be that detection of individual nanoparticles and single molecules is not within reach via the measurement of their Rayleigh scattering, interferometric scattering (iSCAT) microscopy introduced in 2004 has demonstrated the contrary. Indeed, it is now possible to reach a remarkable real-time detection sensitivity down to single unlabeled proteins. In this presentation, I will present the most recent advances in iSCAT analysis, reaching an exquisite sensitivity for detecting single unlabeled proteins as light as 20 kDa. I also discuss our progress towards the detection and microscopy of SARS-Cov-2 viruses in a high-security biosafety environment.