Confocal single-molecule FRET for protein conformational dynamics

Abstract

Single-molecule Fӧrster-type resonance energy transfer (smFRET) is a unique technique capable of following conformational motions of individual protein molecules. The direct observation of individual proteins provides rich information that would be washed away in ensemble measurements, hence opening up new avenues for establishing the protein structure-function relationships through dynamics. Retrieving dynamics information of biomolecular motions via smFRET, though, requires careful experiment design and rigorous treatment of single-molecule statistics. Here, we describe the rudimentary steps for an smFRET experiment, including sample preparation for the microscope, building of critical parts for single-molecule FRET detection, and a robust methodology for photon-by-photon data analysis.