Our ZMWs featured by PicoQuant: from nanophotonic apertures to a commercial single-molecule microscope

PicoQuant has recently published two articles and an application note highlighting the use of our zero-mode waveguide (ZMW) nanoapertures with their Luminosa single-molecule fluorescence microscope.

ZMWs reduce the fluorescence observation volume to the attoliter range (10^-18 L or 0.001 µm³) enabling single-molecule measurements at concentrations far beyond the limits of conventional confocal microscopy. In recent work, we developed scalable ZMW arrays with 230 nm apertures and observation volumes of 10 aL.

Integrated with the Luminosa platform, these nanoapertures enable FCS measurements at micromolar concentrations, with enhanced molecular brightness and automated measurements across many individual ZMWs. In a demonstration, 88 ZMWs were measured automatically in ~85 minutes.

This collaboration marks an important step toward making nanophotonic single-molecule spectroscopy more accessible, quantitative and scalable. It also demonstrates the straightforward implementation of our nanophotonic ZMWs devices into a commercial confocal microscope.

Read the two PicoQuant articles:

• Zero-Mode Waveguides: Extending single-molecule fluorescence to higher concentrations
• FCS with Zero-Mode Waveguides: From individual nanoapertures to automated measurements