Since the discovery of fluorescent proteins and the development of DNA recombinant techniques, various fluorescence methods have significantly improved our understanding of cell biology at a molecular level. In particular, thanks, in large part, to technological advances in these fields, fluorescence techniques such as fluorescence recovery after photobleaching (FRAP), fluorescence correlation spectroscopy (FCS), and single-particle tracking (SPT) have become standard tools in studying cell membrane structure as well as the diffusion and interaction of biomolecules in the cell membrane. In this chapter, we will review some topics of the diffusion theory from both deterministic and probabilistic approaches, which are relevant to cell membrane fluorescence microscopy. Additionally, we will derive some basic equations for FARP and FCS based on the diffusion theory.
Part of the book: Fluorescence Methods for Investigation of Living Cells and Microorganisms