The power and prospects of fluorescence microscopies and spectroscopies

Annu Rev Biophys Biomol Struct. 2003:32:161-82. doi: 10.1146/annurev.biophys.32.110601.142525. Epub 2003 Feb 11.

Abstract

Recent years have witnessed a renaissance of fluorescence microscopy techniques and applications, from live-animal multiphoton confocal microscopy to single-molecule fluorescence spectroscopy and imaging in living cells. These achievements have been made possible not so much because of improvements in microscope design, but rather because of development of new detectors, accessible continuous wave and pulsed laser sources, sophisticated multiparameter analysis on one hand, and the development of new probes and labeling chemistries on the other. This review tracks the lineage of ideas and the evolution of thinking that have led to the actual developments, and presents a comprehensive overview of the field, with emphasis put on our laboratory's interest in single-molecule microscopy and spectroscopy.

Publication types

  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.
  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.
  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Equipment Design
  • Fluorescence Resonance Energy Transfer / instrumentation
  • Fluorescence Resonance Energy Transfer / methods
  • Fluorescent Dyes
  • Microscopy, Fluorescence / instrumentation*
  • Microscopy, Fluorescence / methods*
  • Spectrometry, Fluorescence / instrumentation*
  • Spectrometry, Fluorescence / methods*
  • Staining and Labeling / instrumentation
  • Staining and Labeling / methods

Substances

  • Fluorescent Dyes