Nuclear transport of single molecules: dwell times at the nuclear pore complex.

The mechanism by which macromolecules are selectively translocated through the nuclear pore complex (NPC) is still essentially unresolved. Single molecule methods can provide unique information on topographic properties and kinetic processes of asynchronous supramolecular assemblies with excellent spatial and time resolution. Here, single-molecule far-field fluorescence microscopy was applied to the NPC of permeabilized cells.

Quantitative analysis of serum and serum ultrafiltrate by means of Raman spectroscopy.

The fast and reliable determination of concentrations of blood, plasma or serum constituents is a major requirement in clinical chemistry. We explored Raman spectroscopy as a reagent-free tool for predicting the concentrations of different parameters in serum and serum ultrafiltrate. In an investigation using samples from 247 blood donors (which we believe to be the largest study on Raman spectroscopy of serum so far) the concentrations of glucose, triglycerides, urea, total protein, cholesterol, high density lipoprotein, low density lipoprotein and uric acid were determined with an accuracy within the clinically interesting range.