| Abstract: | Single‐molecule fluorescence spectroscopy evolved to a variety of tools to investigate molecular dynamics in thermodynamic equilibrium and to reveal subpopulations in heterogeneous molecular distributions which usually remain hidden in bulk experiments. Applications of single‐molecule experiments range from life sciences and material sciences to photo‐physics and photo‐chemistry. Some of these research fields, like chemical catalysis, have just recently been entered. This article summarizes major principles of single‐molecule fluorescence spectroscopy and gives an overview on some important applications up to the development of novel microscopic techniques with nanometer resolution. |
