Fluorescence Imaging Spectroscopy and Microscopy (Chemical Analysis: A Series of Monographs on Analytical Chemistry and Its Applications)

In recent years, the introduction of the combined use of flourescence spectroscopy and microscopy has opened up exciting new arenas of scientific investigation. The combination of spectroscopic techniques and video microscopy enables acquisition of quantitative data about dynamic processes. It allows the investigation of molecular activity as it occurs - at the level of a single, intact, living cell - and provides extraordinary detail regarding biological organization and function. This new work covers emerging technologies and their applications in a variety of disciplines, including chemistry, biology, physics, computer science, engineering, medicine, and pharmacology. Each chapter is devoted to a new, unique, or otherwise novel application of the combination of imaging techniques and flourescence spectroscopy. In addition to covering established methods and instrumentation, the contributors also identify potential new applications in a number of areas. Throughout, they emphasize the multifunctional and multidimensional uses of the marriage of flourescence imaging spectroscopy and digital imaging microscopy. They show how these technologies can be used in combination to obtain distinct yet complimentary information, allowing two- and three-dimensional measurements, as well as manipulations of the sample under study in real time. This book makes the field of flourescence imaging spectroscopy and microscopy accessible to scientists in a variety of research fields. It is also an excellent text for graduate students, a reference to the latest techniques, and a source of ideas to stimulate future investigation.