Abstract

Time-resolved fluorescence spectroscopy is presently regarded as a research tool in biochemistry, biophysics and chemical physics. Advances in laser technology, the development of long-wavelength probes, and the use of lifetime-based methods, are resulting in the rapid migration of time-resolved fluorescence to the clinical chemistry lab, to the patient’s bedside, to the doctor’s office, and even to home health care. Additionally, time-resolved imaging is now a reality in fluorescence microscopy, and provides chemical imaging of a variety of intracellular analytes. In this lecture we describe some of the opportunities available using chemical sensing based on fluorescence lifetimes.

© 1995 Optical Society of America