Visible fluorescence spectroscopy of single proteins at liquid-helium temperature

Fluorescence spectroscopy of single proteins at liquid-helium temperatures reveals a relation between structural dynamics and biological functions of the proteins. The technical difficulties in detecting visible fluorescence are chromatic aberration and optical background. They were overcome by a new optical design using reflective optics and employing two-photon excitation. The fluorescence spectrum of single green-fluorescent proteins taken at a temperature of 1.5 K makes a distinction between different metastable conformations that last for tens of seconds.