Continuous mass photometry by single-molecule trapping
The dynamic choreography of biomolecular interactions underpins the processes of life, but its direct observation remains challenging. Here we introduce continuous mass photometry, enabling hour-long, mass-resolved observation of individual biomolecules tethered to supported lipid bilayers, their complexes and interactions, with up to sub-kilodalton mass precision and millisecond temporal resolution. Our approach represents a quantitative time-resolved single-molecule measurement modality for studying complex biomolecular mechanisms in action.
Authors
- Tiong Kit Tan (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8746-8308)
- Weston B. Struwe (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0594-226X)
- Philipp Kukura (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0136-7704)
- Seham Helmi (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5564-7459)
- Dan Loewenthal (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5303-1714)
- Sean Anthony Burnap (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3408-8608)
- Konstantin Zouboulis (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3246-219X)
- Roi Asor (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5206-4378)
- Jan Christoph Thiele (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6638-6298)
- Jack S. Peters (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8829-7555)
- Justin L. P. Benesch (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1507-3742)
- Jack Bardzil (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0005-1547-5644)
- Merve Kaplan (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3322-0988)
- Stephen Thorpe
Institutions
- Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College (CN)
- University of Oxford (GB)
- MRC Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine (GB)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Nature Methods
- Published
- 2026-10-26
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1038/s41592-026-03252-1
- Primary Topic
- Advanced Fluorescence Microscopy Techniques
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00
Funders
- Wellcome Trust
- Directorate for Biological Sciences
- Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council
- Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council