Nanoscopic protein motion on a live cell membrane

Cellular functions are dictated by the intricate motion of proteins in membranes that span across a scale of nanometers to micrometers, within a time-frame of microseconds to minutes. However, this rich parameter of space is inaccessible using fluorescence microscopy, although it is within reach of interferometric scattering (iSCAT) particle tracking. The new iSCAT technique is, however, highly sensitive to single and unlabelled proteins, thereby causing non-specific background staining as a substantial challenge during cellular imaging.