New Trends In Fluorescence Spectroscopy

This first volume in the new Springer Series on Fluorescence brings together fundamental and applied research from this highly interdisciplinary and field, ranging from chemistry and physics to biology and medicine. Special attention is given to supramolecular systems, sensor applications, confocal microscopy and protein-protein interactions. This carefully edited collection of articles is an invaluable tool for practitioners and novices.

Time-resolved fluorescence spectroscopy is widely used as a research tool in bioch- istry and biophysics. These uses of fluorescence have resulted in extensive knowledge of the structure and dynamics of biological macromolecules. This information has been gained by studies of phenomena that affect the excited state, such as the local environment, quenching processes, and energy transfer. Topics in Fluorescence Spectroscopy, Volume 4: Probe Design and Chemical Sensing reflects a new trend, which is the use of time-resolved fluorescence in analytical and clinical chemistry. These emerging applications of time-resolved fluorescence are the result of continued advances in laser detector and computer technology. For instance, pho- multiplier tubes (PMT) were previously bulky devices. Miniature PMTs are now available, and the performance of simpler detectors is continually improving. There is also considerable effort to develop fluorophores that can be excited with the red/ne- infrared (NIR) output of laser diodes. Using such probes, one can readily imagine small time-resolved fluorometers, even hand-held devices, being used fordoctor’s office or home health care.

The increased use of fluorescence techniques is greatly enhanced by the improved instrumentation pioneered by inventive scientists and now made available commercially by several high-tech companies. Moreover, the design and development of many new molecular probes with higher selectivity for specific microenvironmental properties has stimulated many new researchers to employ fluorescence techniques for solving their problems. This topic book, the second in his series, reflects this exciting scientific progress and deals, among others, with new approaches and new probes in fluorescence spectroscopy, single molecule fluorescence, applications in biomembrane and enzyme studies and imaging of living cells.

In this inaugural volume of a new series, experts in the field help biochemists, analytical chemists, spectroscopists, biophysicists, and other specialists keep up with the latest techniques and technologies available in fluorescence spectroscopy.

Reviews in Fluorescence 2004, the first book of a new book series from Springer, is a collection of current trends and emerging hot topics in the field of Fluorescence. This annual review series differs from Springer's current Topics in Fluorescence series in that it is more specialized and includes reviews of an individual's own work or scientific perspective. Reviews in Fluorescence will therefore complement the other fluorescence titles published by Springer, whilst feeding the requirement from the fluorescence community for annual informative updates and developments. Key features: - Reviews in Fluorescence will be citable, indexed, and available both in print and online. - Reviews in Fluorescence will be published annually. - Reviews in Fluorescence will comprise invited review articles that summarize the yearly progress in fluorescence. - Alternate years will publish the Invited Papers from the Methods and Applications in Fluorescence conference series (MAFS).

"Provides analytical chemists and biomedical scientists with an excellent summary of progress...This is a book that can be recommended to all analytical scientists interested in fluorimetry." (Analytical Chimica Acta) "This is a useful overview and gives the nonspecialist a feeling for the advantages and limitations of the methods. Overall this book is a worthwhile read and a good source of references." (TRAC) The book is divided into chapters on new methods, new appli- cations, fluorescence immunoassays, fluorometric analysis and fluorescence spectroscopy in biomedical sciences. Specific topics are fluorescence spectroscopy using synchrotron radiation, picosecond fluorescence spectroscopy, fluorescence microscopy, fluorescence scattering by synthetic polymers, fluorescence immunoassays, fluorescence for environmental monitoring, fluorescence in flow injection analysis, hydro-geological studies, fluorescence of proteins, lipids and membranes, cell fluorescence, calcium transients.

Providing much-needed information on fluorescence spectroscopy and microscopy, this ready reference covers detection techniques, data registration, and the use of spectroscopic tools, as well as new techniques for improving the resolution of optical microscopy below the resolution gap. Starting with the basic principles, the book goes on to treat fluorophores and labeling, single-molecule fluorescence spectroscopy and enzymatics, as well as excited state energy transfer, and super-resolution fluorescence imaging. Examples show how each technique can help in obtaining detailed and refined information from individual molecular systems.