Over the years fluorescence correlation spectroscopy (FCS) has proven to be a useful technique that has been utilized in several fields of study. Although FCS initially suffered from poor signal-to-noise ratios, the incorporation of confocal microscopy has overcome this drawback and transformed FCS into a sensitive technique with high figures of merit. In addition, tandem methods have evolved to include dual-color cross-correlation, total internal reflection fluorescence correlation, and fluorescence lifetime correlation spectroscopy combined with time-correlated single-photon counting. In this review, we discuss several applications of FSC for biochemical, microfluidic, and cellular investigations.
© 2011 Society for Applied Spectroscopy