Single-molecule imaging of telomerase activity via linear plasmon rulersElectronic supplementary information (ESI) available. See DOI: 10.1039/c7cc00626h

Plasmon rulers (PRs) exploit the potential of plasmon coupling between individual pairs of noble metal nanoparticles in biological processes, especially single-molecule detection. Herein, for the first time, we report a strategy based on Ag PRs for in situ monitoring of the extension process of telomerase primer (TSP) activated by a single telomerase. A strategy for real-time monitoring of the extension of the telomerase primer based on plasmon rulers was demonstrated for the first time.