Single-molecule kinetics of annexin V membrane binding in an undergraduate physical biochemistry lab course

Single-molecule microscopy methods represent one of the great advances in biophysics over the last 40 years but are rarely taught in undergraduate laboratory courses due to instrumentation costs. Single-molecule measurements also offer a direct glimpse into the stochastic nature of events underlying physical and biochemical processes. We have developed and implemented two modules for teaching total internal reflection fluorescence (TIRF) microscopy and single-molecule analysis into an undergraduate physical biochemistry lab course at the University of Colorado Denver.