Multipoint fluorescence correlation spectroscopy with total internal reflection fluorescence microscope.

We report simultaneous determination of diffusion coefficients at different points of a cell membrane using a multipoint fluorescence correlation spectroscopy (FCS) system. A system carrying seven detection areas in the evanescent field is achieved by using seven optical fibers on the image plane in the detection port of an objective-type total internal reflection FCS (TIR-FCS) system. Fluctuation of fluorescence intensity is monitored and evaluated using seven photomultiplier tubes (PMTs) and a newly constructed multichannel correlator. We demonstrate simultaneous-multipoint FCS, with a 3-mus time resolution, to investigate heterogeneous structures such as cell membranes and membrane-binding molecular dynamics near glass surfaces in live cells.