With its gradual progression from the basics of light to the most advanced techniques in single-molecule-based super-resolution microscopy, this book's easy-to-understand language and focus on the interdisciplinary nature of single-molecule science make it ideal for students from a wide range of research disciplines across physics, chemistry, biology, medicine, and engineering. Written in a way that is accessible to everyone, from undergraduates to experts, this book does not require a strong background in physics or optics and deliberately avoids the use of extreme mathematics in favor of logical arguments and simple reasoning to explain complex concepts. Chapter-end questions and worked examples round out this entirely self-contained textbook, making it the ideal accompaniment to courses on imaging optics and single-molecule science.

Partha P. Mondal was born in Hanskhali, West Bengal, India, on February 21, 1978, received his Ph.D. in physics in 2006 from the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, India. He was Researcher at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (USA), International Center for Theoretical Physics (Italy), and University of Genova (Italy). Subsequently, he joined the Indian Institute of Science as Assistant Professor in 2010 and currently serves as Full Professor and Chairman of Centre for Cryogenic Technology. He is credited with the invention of iLIFE lightsheet imaging cytometry, iCLASS lightsheet nanolithography and Lightsheet Optical Tweezer (LOT). He visited several universities as visiting Professor and has served on the editorial board of several journals. He authored three books: classical & quantum optics, light sheet microscopy & imaging, and fundamentals of fluorescence microscopy.  His laboratory (Nanobioimaging Lab) specializes in optical tweezer, imaging cytometry, optical instrumentation, fluorescence spectroscopy, super-resolution microscopy, nanobiology, fluorescence imaging, cell & disease biophysics and single molecule physics.

Samuel T. Hess developed fluorescence photoactivation localization microscopy (FPALM), one of three new techniques to break the diffraction barrier in 2006, offering life scientists an incredible boost in imaging power. He is a professor of physics in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Maine, Orono, Maine. Prof. Hess earned all of his degrees in physics: his B.S. at Yale and M.S. and Ph.D. at Cornell University.