Single-Molecule Tracking for Live Cells

A special issue of Biophysica (ISSN 2673-4125).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 September 2026 | Viewed by 1029

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Department of Geriatrics, Asklepios Clinic, D-88131 Lindau, Germany
Interests: single molecules; single-molecule biophysics & biochemistry based on the stochastic nature of diffusion
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Dear Colleagues,

We have measured the anomalous diffusion in human prostate cancer cells that were transfected with an Alexa633 fluorescent RNA probe and co-transfected with enhanced green fluorescent protein-labeled argonaute2 protein via laser scanning microscopy. The image analysis arose from diffusion based on a “two-level system”. The trap was an interaction site where the diffusive motion was slowed down. Anomalous subdiffusive spreading occurred at cellular traps. The cellular traps were not immobile. We demonstrated how the novel analysis method of imaging data resulted in new information about the number of traps in the crowded and heterogeneous environment of a single human prostate cancer cell. The imaging data were consistent with and explained by modern ideas of the anomalous diffusion of mixed origins in live cells.

This Special Edition is about the single-molecule level versus the many-molecule level in single live cells and diluted liquids (solutions). The journal Biophysica contains groundbreaking and fundamental research on single-molecule tracking and measurements, while papers published in the journal Cells apply to more specific questions in cell biology. We would appreciate it if you would consider submitting a paper to this Special Edition of the journals Biophysica.

You may choose our Joint Special Issue in Cells.

Prof. Dr. Zeno Földes-Papp
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • single-molecule level
  • many-molecule level
  • biological cell
  • diluted liquids
  • single-molecule localization microscopy
  • nanoscopy
  • modeling
  • diffusion
  • theory

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Review

20 pages, 1778 KB  
Review
Advancing the Frontiers of Biophysical Research and Cellular Dynamics: Single-Molecule Tracking for Live Cells—A Deep Dive
by Shih-Chu Jeff Liao, Beniamino Barbieri, Gerd Baumann and Zeno Földes-Papp
Biophysica 2026, 6(2), 30; https://doi.org/10.3390/biophysica6020030 - 8 Apr 2026
Viewed by 753
Abstract
This article addresses a current point of contention in the field of single-molecule/single-particle tracking, as well as the relevant literature, and supplements it with some published cell-based experiments to illustrate our conclusions and known theorems. We attempt to explain the controversy surrounding the [...] Read more.
This article addresses a current point of contention in the field of single-molecule/single-particle tracking, as well as the relevant literature, and supplements it with some published cell-based experiments to illustrate our conclusions and known theorems. We attempt to explain the controversy surrounding the differing biophysical and cell biological results of studies on the individual molecule and those “at the single-molecule level” as well as at the level of many molecules in such a way that even readers who are unfamiliar with the subject can understand it without having to read all the mathematical, physical, and biophysical references. Given this abundance of studies in the literature, it is obvious that genuine single-molecule studies are urgently needed, i.e., single-molecule studies that focus on increasing the sensitivity of the temporal resolution of single-molecule measurements and not just on spatial resolution. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Single-Molecule Tracking for Live Cells)
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