Single-molecule fluorescence studies of the dynamics in supramolecular systems of biological interest

Abstract

The general objective of this thesis is the use of single-molecule fluorescence (SMF) techniques to study the dynamics and stability of different chemical and biochemical systems. Most of its content is focused on the optimization of Fluorescence Correlation Spectroscopy (FCS) technique and its application to investigate host-guest systems. Several studies were carried out on the interaction between fluorescent dyes or dye-labelled molecules of different nature and macromolecules of interest such as cyclodextrins, micelles or DNA oligonucleotides. Single-molecule FRET is also used in combination with Total Internal Reflection Fluorescence Microscopy (smFRET/TIRF) to study the folding of ARN aptamers, which are too slow to be addressed by FCS. This thesis is presented in the style of a series of published papers. Five original publications are reproduced in full to form the core or part of some chapters.