Single-molecule techniques to analyze proteins and other biomolecules involving labels and tethers have allowed for new understanding of the underlying biophysics; however, the impact of perturbation from the labels and tethers has recently been shown to be significant in several cases. New approaches are emerging to measure single proteins through light scattering without the need for labels and ideally without tethers. Here, the approaches of interference scattering, plasmonic scattering, microcavity sensing, nanoaperture optical tweezing, and variants are described and compared. The application of these approaches to sizing, oligomerization, interactions, conformational dynamics, diffusion, and vibrational mode analysis is described. With early commercial successes, these approaches are poised to have an impact in the field of single-molecule biophysics.

Photon correlation spectroscopy (PCS), a dynamic light-scattering technique for particle size measurement, was used to determine the coagulation rates of aqueous dispersions of relatively monodisperse South Carolina Peerless kaolinite, Silver Hill, Montana, illite, Wyoming montmorillonite, and Florida palygorskite. This technique allows quantitative measurement of the rate of coagulation for clay particles where the traditional turbidity method gives only a qualitative measure. The critical coagulation concentrations for KCl at pH = 10.0 were: 0.199 M for kaolinite, 0.202 M for illite, 0.290 M for montmorillonite, and 0.034 M for palygorskite. The effective Hamaker constants, calculated using Derjaguin-Landau-Verwey-Overbeek theory, were: 3.1 × 10−20 J for kaolinite, 2.5 × 10−20 J for illite, 2.2 × 10−20 J for montmorillonite, and 1.63 × 10−19 J for palygorskite. Stern potentials at the critical coagulation concentration at pH 10.0 were: −42.7 mV for kaolinite, −40.7 mV for illite,‒21.2 mV for montmorillonite, and −66.9 mV for palygorskite.

Aqueous suspensions of allophane show relatively high viscosity, presumably because of strong particle interaction between the unit particles. To test this hypothesis, we measured the particle weight and particle size of allophane during a dispersion using the light scattering method. The particle weight was more than several hundred times larger than that of the unit particle, and the size was 100–400 nm, whereas the Stokes’ diameter of the particles in the sample was less than 50 nm. Particle weight and size varied with the pH of the sample. Particle sizes were cross-checked by ultrafiltration through membrane filters. The experimental findings show that the unit particles of allophane within dilute dispersions appear to be associated like strings of beads, forming domains (primary floccules) about 100 nm in diameter. When these domains coagulate under certain conditions, they do not grow analogously but form clusters, such as secondary floccules, then precipitate. Formation of secondary flocculation of loose structure accounts for the maximum relative viscosity at the transition pH between dispersion and coagulation.

The formation and structure of hematite aggregates were examined by dynamic and static light scattering techniques. A large range in coagulation kinetics was studied by varying either indifferent electrolyte (KCl) concentration or surface complexing anion (H2PO4-) concentration, PT, at pH 6.0 ± 0.1. Diffusion limited aggregation (DLA) was induced by counterion screening at [KCl] > 80 mM or by surface charge neutralization at P T = 31 μM (and ionic strength =1.0 mM). In DLA, the fractal dimension, df, of aggregates formed by either surface charge neutralization or counterion screening was 1.7 ± 0.1. A reduction in the rate of coagulation in KCl for [KCl] > critical coagulation concentration (CCC) produced an increase in df to 2.1 ± 0.1. For aggregation induced by phosphate adsorption at constant ionic strength, there was no apparent trend in df with coagulation rate. The value of df was consistently less than 1.8 when reaction limited aggregation (RLA) resulted from surface charge neutralization rather than counterion screening. TEM observations of aggregates formed in the presence or absence of phosphate confirm that, when RLA is induced by phosphate adsorption, resulting aggregates are much looser in structure than those formed by counterion screening. The results suggest that the high-affinity binding of phosphate to hematite may result in a nonrandom distribution of surface charge that facilitates the coalescence of positive and negative charge crystal faces.

The degree of flocculation of aqueous suspensions of microcrystalline goethite was measured in salts of monovalent, divalent and trivalent cations at pH 6.0–6.5 over a range of ionic strengths using light scattering measurements at 650 nm. Varying concentrations of soluble humic material as well as the organic ligands, salicylate and citrate, were tested for their effect on flocculation. It was found that KCl and NaCl induced flocculation at lower ionic strength than CaCl2, while AlCl3 favored dispersion at all ionic strengths tested. The simple organic ligands promoted flocculation at low concentration, with citrate having a more pronounced effect than salicylate. At higher concentrations, these ligands reversed their effect, inducing a more dispersed state of the oxide. The organic ligand effect on dispersibility was modified by the particular metal cation present, with Ca2+ being more conducive to flocculation than K+. Soluble humic materials affected goethite flocculation in a qualitatively similar way to that of the simple organic ligands, that is low concentrations favored flocculation while high concentrations induced dispersion. This dispersing effect was partially suppressed by the presence of Ca2+, and completely suppressed by Al3+. Thus, soluble humic substances at relatively high concentrations appear to have a marked dispersing effect on goethite in the absence of polyvalent cations, and a strongly flocculating effect in their presence.

The results can be explained qualitatively by a simple oxide surface charge model, in which chemi-sorption of multivalent cations or organic ligands alters the surface charge. Reactions that increase the magnitude of positive or negative surface charge favor dispersion, while those that reduce the magnitude of charge favor flocculation.

Polarimetric observations demonstrated that all comets with significant values of circular polarization show predominantly left–handed circularly polarized light. We discuss the presence of homochiral organics in cometary materials as a source of the observed circular polarization. We have studied the effect of chirality on light–scattering properties of cometary dust considering particles that possess optical activity. Our investigations show that the cometary dust may include optically active materials which can be prebiological homochiral organics.

Perception of different color contrast stimuli was studied in the presence of light scattering: in a fog chamber in Clermont-Ferrand and in laboratory conditions where light scattering of similar levels was obtained, using different light scattering eye occluders. Blue (shortest wavelength) light is scattered in fog to the greatest extent, causing deterioration of vision quality especially for the monochromatic blue stimuli. However, for the color stimuli presented on a white background, visual acuity in fog for blue Landolt-C optotypes was higher than for red and green optotypes on the white background. The luminance of color Landolt-C optotypes presented on a LCD screen was chosen corresponding to the blue, green, and red color contributions in achromatic white stimuli (computer digital R, G, or B values for chromatic stimuli equal to RGB values in the achromatic white background) that results in the greatest luminance contrast for the white–blue stimuli, thus advancing the visual acuity for the white-blue stimuli. Besides such blue stimuli on the white background are displayed with a uniform, spatially unmodulated distribution of the screen blue phosphor emission over the entire area of the screen including the stimulus C optotype area. It follows that scattering, which has the greatest effect on the blue component of screen luminance, has the least effect on the perception of white–blue stimuli.

In protein transport between organelles, interactions of v- and t-SNARE proteins are required for fusion of protein-containing vesicles with appropriate target compartments. Mammalian SNARE proteins have been observed to interact with NSF and SNAP, and yeast SNAREs with yeast homologues of NSF and SNAP proteins. This observation led to the hypothesis that, despite low sequence homology, SNARE proteins are structurally similar among eukaryotes. SNARE proteins can be classified into two groups depending on whether they interact with SNARE binding partners via conserved glutamine (Q-SNAREs) or arginine (R-SNAREs). Much of the published structural data available is for SNAREs involved in exocytosis (either in yeast or synaptic vesicles). This paper describes circular dichroism, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and dynamic light scattering data for a set of yeast v- and t-SNARE proteins, Vti1p and Pep12p, that are Q-SNAREs involved in intracellular trafficking. Our results suggest that the secondary structure of Vti1p is highly α-helical and that Vti1p forms multimers under a variety of solution conditions. In these respects, Vti1p appears to be distinct from R-SNARE proteins characterized previously. The α-helicity of Vti1p is similar to that of Q-SNARE proteins characterized previously. Pep12p, a Q-SNARE, is highly α-helical. It is distinct from other Q-SNAREs in that it forms dimers under many of the solution conditions tested in our experiments. The results presented in this paper are among the first to suggest heterogeneity in the functioning of SNARE complexes.