Single-molecule fluorescence articles from across Nature Portfolio

It is a long-standing scientific controversy to achieve anti-Kasha emissions by tuning structures at a molecular level. Herein, the authors constructed two symmetry-breaking heterogeneous carbon bisnanohoops with unusual anti-Kasha characteristics.

Near-infrared small molecule dyes are attractive in biophotonics, but generally rely on expanded aromatic structures to achieve this redshift. Here the authors report the use of a ground state antiaromatic strategy for 14 aminofluorene dyes, and their use in imaging kidney injury.

Molecular triplet-triplet upconversion is useful in a wide range of applications, but is limited by significant oxygen quenching. Here the authors report the combination of sensitiser and annihilator that is stable in aerated environments, and suitable for in vivo sensing.

Weak laser light confined at the apex of a scanning tunnelling microscope tip can drive the tautomerization of a free-base phthalocyanine with atomic-scale precision. The combination of tip-enhanced photoluminescence spectroscopy and hyperspectral mapping paired with theoretical modelling then unravel an excited-state mediated reaction.

The efficiency of upconversion electroluminescence remains very low for single-molecule emitters. Here, the authors report over one order of magnitude improvement in the emission efficiency via engineering energy-level alignments for triplet relayed upconversion involving only carrier injection.

By confining and concentrating light in a nanometric volume at the apex of a metallic tip, sub-molecule-scale control of a basic photochemical reaction — phototautomerization — is now shown to be possible. Applicable to other photo-induced reactions, this technique signals a new strategy for the synthesis of complex molecules on surfaces.

Quantum dots couple to form artificial molecules that allow for variable colour emission in response to an electric field.

Therapies that destroy senescent cells could be used to alleviate age-related disease, yet conventional drugs often suffer from low selectivity and unwanted side effects. Now, a photosensitive agent has been developed that is activated in situ in senescent cells, enabling their selective elimination.

Photoluminescence spectroscopy using atomic-scale light reveals an optical transition of a single molecule at sub-nanometre resolution.

The flow of energy in Earth's primary light harvesters — photosynthetic pigment–protein complexes — needs to be heavily regulated, as the sun's energy supply can vary over many orders of magnitude. Observing hundreds of individual light-harvesting complexes has now provided important insights into the machinery that regulates this process.