Nanofluidic structures for single biomolecule fluorescent detection

Fluid-filled nanofabricated cavities can be used to increase the spatial resolution of single molecule coinfocal microscopy based techniques by creating smaller and more uniformly illuminated probe volumes. Such structures may also be used to temporarily stretch single macromolecules, permitting the resolution of molecular details that would otherwise by beyond the capabilities of a diffraction limited system. (c) 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.