UCSF

Photobleaching limits extended imaging of fluorescent biological samples. We developed DNA-based ‘FluoroCubes’ that are similar in size to the green fluorescent protein, have single-point attachment to proteins, have a ~54-fold higher photobleaching lifetime and emit ~43-fold more photons than single organic dyes. We demonstrate that DNA FluoroCubes provide outstanding tools for single-molecule imaging, allowing the tracking of single motor proteins for >800 steps with nanometer precision.