Fluorescence Imaging Spectroscopy and Microscopy

In recent years, the introduction of the combined use of fluorescence 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. These topics are presented by contributing authors who are leading--and pioneering--researchers in their fields. They offer a critical evaluation of both theoretical and practical aspects of the use of these combined technologies in a way that cuts across disciplines, promoting interactivity and dialogue among scientists in different fields.

Each chapter is devoted to a new, unique, or otherwise novel application of the combination of imaging techniques and fluorescence 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 fluorescence imaging spectroscopy and digital imaging microscopy. They show how these technologies can be used in combination to obtain distinct yet complementary 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 fluorescence 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.

An exploration of ideas, methods, and applications in the exciting new area of fluorescence imaging spectroscopy and microscopy

This book covers the latest in techniques and advances that have developed from the combined use of fluorescence imaging spectroscopy and video microscopy. A relatively new innovation, it has revolutionized molecular research in a wide range of disciplines. This approach allows acquisition of quantitative data regarding real-world biological processes--providing unprecedented insight into the physiology of living cells and their molecular structures and functions.

Written by a diverse group of leading researchers who contribute from their respective scientific disciplines--and from their perspective at the cutting edge of the technology--this book
* Combines a unified treatment and a critical evaluation of the field, presenting new ideas, methods, and instrumentation, with tips for developing new applications
* Covers many new techniques in different scientific disciplines--from biology and chemistry to physics, engineering, and medicine
* Emphasizes the multifunctional and the multidimensional uses of fluorescence spectroscopy and video microscopy, and shows how they can be applied in different combinations to obtain new information


For biochemists, cell biologists, biophysicists, physiologists, neuroscientists, applied physicists, and materials scientists, as well as for scientists working in industrial, agricultural, medical, and pharmaceutical research--and for graduate students in these areas--this book is a novel resource of research opportunities, new ideas, and current practices in a dynamic and burgeoning new field.

About the editors

XUE FENG WANG is Research Assistant Professor in the Department of Cell Biology and Anatomy at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. His research interests include applied optics, fluorescence spectroscopy with particular emphasis on the time-resolved fluorescence imaging techniques, video and confocal microscopy, and the application of fluorescence spectroscopy to cell and molecular biology. Dr. Wang was a recipient of The Monbusho Award from the Japanese Government. He is also a recipient of The Whitaker Foundation Award, American Heart Association Award, and Sanofi Winthrop Award.

BRIAN HERMAN is a professor in the Department of Cell Biology and Anatomy and Co-Director of the Digitized Microscopy Facility at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. Formerly an instructor at Harvard Medical School, he currently serves on the editorial boards of the Journal of Cellular Biochemistry, Bioimaging, Journal of Bio-medical Optics, American Journal of Physiology: Cell Physiology, and the Journal of Biological Chemistry. Dr. Herman is a past recipient of an American Cancer Society Faculty Research Award and an NIH Method to Extend Research in Time (MERIT) Award. Dr. Herman previously co-edited Optical Microscopy: Emerging Methods and Applications and Optical Microscopy for Biology.