Orientation detection of a single molecule using pupil filter with electrically controllable polarization pattern

Abstract

We have developed a system for measuring the orientation of single molecules using a conventional wide-field fluorescence microscope with a polarization filter consisting of a polarizer and a compact polarization mode converter. The polarization filter electrically controls the pattern of polarization filtering. Since the polarization of the fluorescence from a single molecule highly depends on the angle between the observation direction and the molecular direction, polarization pattern filtering at the pupil plane of the objective lens allows the orientation of a single molecule to be visualized. Using this system, we demonstrated the orientation detection of single molecules.