Abstract
Fluorescence correlation spectroscopy (FCS) is a powerful technique used to measure diffusion, fluctuations, and other transport processes in biomolecular systems. It is, however, prone to artifacts and subject to considerable experimental difficulties when applied to living cells. In this chapter, we provide protocols to conduct quantitative FCS measurements on DNA inside living eukaryotic and prokaryotic cells. We discuss sample preparation, dye selection and characterization, FCS data acquisition, and data analysis, including a method to com pensate for photobleaching to obtain quantitatively meaningful spectra.