Single molecule tracking

A detection system for identifying individual molecules having characteristic emissions in a flow train of molecules in a flow cell, comprising:

• position sensitive sensor means effective to detect said emissions from said molecules within said flow cell and assign spatial and temporal coordinates for said detected emissions;
• computer means for predicting spatial and temporal coordinates for a molecule in said flow train as a function of a first detected emission;
• and
• comparison means for comparing said detected spatial and temporal coordinates with said predicted spatial and temporal coordinates to determine whether subsequently detected emissions originate from an excited molecule in said train of molecules.

A detection method for identifying individual molecules having a characteristic emission in a flow train, comprising:

• detecting in position sensitive sensor means molecular emissions within said flow train;
• assigning spatial and temporal coordinates for said detected emissions;
• predicting spatial and temporal coordinates for a molecule as a function of a first detected emission;
• and
• comparing said detected spatial and temporal coordinates with said predicted spatial and temporal coordinates to determine whether subsequently detected emissions originate from a molecule in said train of molecules.