Biophotonics: Optical Science And Engineering For The 21St Century {With Cd-Rom}

It is now well established that all living systems emit a weak but permanent photon flux in the visible and ultraviolet range. This biophoton emission is correlated with many, if not all, biological and physiological functions. There are indications of a hitherto-overlooked information channel within the living system. Biophotons may trigger chemical reactivity in cells, growth control, differentiation and intercellular communication, i.e. biological rhythms. The basic experimental and theoretical framework as well as the technical problems and the wide field of applications in the biotechnical, biomedical engineering, engineering, medicine, pharmacology, environmental science and basic science fields are presented in this book. To promote the dialog and mutual penetration between biophoton research and photon technology is one of the important goals for the International Conference on Biophotons & Biophotonics 2003, and is developed and presented in Biophotonics: Optical Science and Engineering in the 21st Century.

Biophotonics - Optical Science and Engineering for the 21^st Century

- Roeland Van Wijk, PhD. and Prof. Dr. Xun Shen 

Biophotonics, the science of generating and harnessing light photons to image, detect and manipulate biological materials, offers great hope for the early detection of diseases and for new modalities of light-guided and light-activated therapies. It offers a powerful tool for studying molecular events, such as gene expression, protein-protein interaction, spatial and temporal distribution of the molecules of biological interest, and many chemico-physical processes in living cells and living organisms.

Biophotonics - Optical Science and Engineering for the 21^st Century introduces the basic experimental and theoretical framework, the technical problems, and the wide field of applications in biotechnology, biomedical engineering, engineering, medicine, pharmacology, environmental science, life sciences, and clinical sciences. Biophotonics: Optical Science and Engineering in the 21st Century serves as an ideal aid to the research and development of these areas integrating light, photonics, and biological systems.

Key topics include:

Fluctuation Correlation Spectroscopy in Cells: Determination of Molecular Aggregation

Using GFP and FRET Technologies for Studying Signaling Mechanisms of Apoptosis in a Single Living Cell

Study on Protein-Protein Interaction in Single Living Cells

Functional Optical Coherence Tomography: Simultaneous In Vivo Imaging of Tissue Structure and Physiology

Imaging –Photo- and Sonodynamic Diagnosis of Cancer Mediated by Chemiluminescence Probes

Biophotonic Analysis of Spontaneous Self-Organizing Oxidative Processes in Aqueous Systems

Biophoton Emission and Defense Systems inPlants

Biophotonics - Optical Science and Engineering for the 21^st Century stands as a valuable resource for advanced undergraduate, graduate students and researchers in biomedical engineering, biotechnology, engineering, chemistry, physics, life sciences, and clinical sciences.

Editors:

Xun Shen

Professor, Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences

Beijing, China

Roeland Van Wijk

Professor, Department of Molecular Cell Biology, Utrecht University,

Utrecht, The Netherlands