Continuous mass photometry follows single-molecule binding for up to an hour
A research optical setup tracks binding and dissociation as mass changes while molecules remain on a supported lipid bilayer.
Researchers led by the University of Oxford reported continuous mass photometry in Nature Methods on 26 October 2026. Molecules retained on a supported lipid bilayer can be followed as partners bind and dissociate in solution, with trajectories extending to about one hour and millisecond time resolution. The experiments included spike protein interactions with antibodies, fragments, nanobodies and ACE2.
The demonstration used a custom 638 nm optical setup and patterned lipid bilayers. The authors describe practical limits for starting mass, mass step and residence time. Laboratories should validate immobilisation, optics and analysis for their own system; this is a research demonstration, not a standardised routine test.