A. Fluorescent molecules have what are known as fluorescence lifetimes. The life

Question

A. Fluorescent molecules have what are known as fluorescence lifetimes. The lifetime is the time the fluorophore spends in the excited state or the time between when it is first excited and when it emits light. Typically fluorescence lifetimes are around a nanosecond. In theory then a single fluorescence molecule could emit how many photons during a second. Given this property of fluorophores and the design of a fluorescent microscope explain why fluorescence is such a sensitive means of detection.

B. What is the lowest number of protein molecules that can be detected by fluorescence?

Explanation / Answer

A) A single fluorescence molecule will emit 10 9 photons during a second. Fluorescence microscopy is a sensitive means of detection because it uses the property of florescence or phosphoresce of the molecules rather than the light absorption and emission.

B) Fluorescence can detect protein molecules having as small as 10 GFP spots.

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