title: Measuring diffusion in cell membranes by fluorescence correlation spectroscopy.
abstract: Fluorescence Correlation Spectroscopy (FCS) can measure diffusion on the cell surface with unparalleled sensitivity. In appropriate situations, this can be the most sensitive and accurate method for measuring receptor interaction and oligomerization. Here we attempt to describe FCS in sufficient detail so that the reader is able to judge when there is a compelling reason to choose this technique, understand the basic theory behind it, construct a FCS spectrometer in the laboratory, and analyze the data to obtain a meaningful estimate of the physical parameters.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical Sciences, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Colaba, Mumbai 400005, India.
authors.forename: Parijat
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Sengupta
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Balaji
authors.forename: Sudipta
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Maiti
mesh_terms: D016477:Artifacts; D002462:Cell Membrane / Q000378:metabolism; D004058:Diffusion; D004559:Electric Wiring; D005456:Fluorescent Dyes; D008027:Light; D018613:Microscopy, Confocal / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods; D008856:Microscopy, Fluorescence / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods; D008954:Models, Biological; D010078:Oxazines; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D013050:Spectrometry, Fluorescence / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods*; D014732:Vibration
chemical_list: D005456:Fluorescent Dyes; D010078:Oxazines; C044808:nile red