Single molecule fluorescence control for nanotechnology.

Nanoscience and nanotechnology are providing fresh approaches to engineer materials with practical applications such as molecular-sized therapeutic and diagnostic devices, drug delivery vehicles, environmental sensors, high-rate manufacturing platforms, and self-assembling nanomachines. In many cases, researchers are mimicking biological systems that easily achieve molecular scale control through directed self-assembly. In parallel, a revolution has occurred in the basic sciences, which utilizes recent advances in fluorescence microscopy to achieve single molecule detection capability. The future will see a merger of these two separate research thrusts, as single molecule detection will afford optimal control over the assembly and performance of individual nanoscale devices.