title: Single-molecule probing of adsorption and diffusion on silica surfaces.
abstract: Single-molecule spectroscopy has emerged as a valuable tool in probing kinetics and dynamic equilibria in adsorption because advances in instrumentation and technology have enabled researchers to obtain high signal-to-noise ratios for common dyes at room temperature. Single-molecule spectroscopy was applied to the study of an important problem in chromatography: peak broadening and asymmetry in the chromatograms of pharmaceuticals, peptides, and proteins. Using DiI, a cationic dye that exhibits the same problematic chromatographic behavior, investigators showed that the adsorption sites that cause chromatographic problems are located at defects on the silica crystal surface.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona 85721, USA. mwirth@email.arizona.edu
authors.forename: Mary J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Wirth
authors.forename: Michael A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Legg