Ultrafast Biophotonics

This book presents emerging contemporary optical techniques of ultrafast science which have opened entirely new vistas for probing biological entities and processes. The spectrum reaches from time-resolved imaging and multiphoton microscopy to cancer therapy and studies of DNA damage. The book displays interdisciplinary research at the interface of physics and biology. Emerging topics on the horizon are also discussed, like the use of squeezed light, frequency combs and terahertz imaging as the possibility of mimicking biological systems. The book is written in a manner to make it readily accessible to researchers, postgraduate biologists, chemists, engineers, and physicists and students of optics, biomedical optics, photonics and biotechnology.

This book covers a diverse cross section of this interdisciplinary research field, with contributions grouped into four categories: laser-induced filamentation; atoms and molecules in a laser field; interaction of solid materials with a coherent light field; and ion acceleration and ionization of atoms in super intense laser fields. This book series presents up-to-date reviews of advances in this interdisciplinary research field, spanning atomic and molecular physics, as well as molecular and optical science, which have been stimulated by the recent developments in ultrafast laser technologies. Each book compiles peer-reviewed articles by researchers at the forefront of their particular subfields. All the chapters include an overview to allow graduate students and researchers unfamiliar with the subfield to grasp the importance and attractions of the topic covered, followed by reports of cutting-edge discoveries.

Written by a team of European experts in the field, this book addresses the physics, the principles, the engineering methods, and the latest developments of efficient and compact ultrafast lasers based on novel quantum-dot structures and devices, as well as their applications in biophotonics. Recommended reading for physicists, engineers, students and lecturers in the fields of photonics, optics, laser physics, optoelectronics, and biophotonics.

Paras Prasad’s text provides a basic knowledge of a broad range of topics so that individuals in all disciplines can rapidly acquire the minimal necessary background for research and development in biophotonics. Introduction to Biophotonics serves as both a textbook for education and training as well as a reference book that aids research and development of those areas integrating light, photonics, and biological systems. Each chapter contains a topic introduction, a review of key data, and description of future directions for technical innovation. Introduction to Biophotonics covers the basic principles of Optics Optical spectroscopy Microscopy Each section also includes illustrated examples and review questions to test and advance the reader’s knowledge. Sections on biosensors and chemosensors, important tools for combating biological and chemical terrorism, will be of particular interest to professionals in toxicology and other environmental disciplines. Introduction to Biophotonics proves a valuable reference for graduate students and researchers in engineering, chemistry, and the life sciences.

Biophotonics for Medical Applications presents information on the interface between laser optics and cell biology/medicine. The book discusses the development and application of photonic techniques that aid the diagnosis and therapeutics of biological tissues in both healthy and diseased states. Chapters cover the fundamental technologies used in biophotonics and a wide range of therapeutic and diagnostic applications. Presents information on the interface between laser optics and cell biology/medicine Discusses the development and application of photonic techniques which aid the diagnosis and therapeutics of biological tissues in both healthy and diseased states Presents the fundamental technologies used in biophotonics and a wide range of therapeutic and diagnostic applications

This monograph focuses on modern femtosecond laser microscopes for two photon imaging and nanoprocessing, on laser tweezers for cell micromanipulation as well as on fluorescence lifetime imaging (FLIM) in Life Sciences. The book starts with an introduction by Dr. Wolfgang Kaiser, pioneer of nonlinear optics and ends with the chapter on clinical multiphoton tomography, the novel high resolution imaging technique. It includes a foreword by the nonlinear microscopy expert Dr. Colin Sheppard. Contents Part I: Basics Brief history of fluorescence lifetime imaging The long journey to the laser and its use for nonlinear optics Advanced TCSPC-FLIM techniques Ultrafast lasers in biophotonics Part II: Modern nonlinear microscopy of live cells STED microscopy: exploring fluorescence lifetime gradients for super-resolution at reduced illumination intensities Principles and applications of temporal-focusing wide-field two-photon microscopy FLIM-FRET microscopy TCSPC FLIM and PLIM for metabolic imaging and oxygen sensing Laser tweezers are sources of two-photon effects Metabolic shifts in cell proliferation and differentiation Femtosecond laser nanoprocessing Cryomultiphoton imaging Part III: Nonlinear tissue imaging Multiphoton Tomography (MPT) Clinical multimodal CARS imaging In vivo multiphoton microscopy of human skin Two-photon microscopy and fluorescence lifetime imaging of the cornea Multiscale correlative imaging of the brain Revealing interaction of dyes and nanomaterials by multiphoton imaging Multiphoton FLIM in cosmetic clinical research Multiphoton microscopy and fluorescence lifetime imaging for resection guidance in malignant glioma surgery Non-invasive single-photon and multi-photon imaging of stem cells and cancer cells in mouse models Bedside assessment of multiphoton tomography

Issues in Bioengineering and Bioinformatics: 2012 Edition is a ScholarlyEditions™ eBook that delivers timely, authoritative, and comprehensive information about Biophotonics. The editors have built Issues in Bioengineering and Bioinformatics: 2012 Edition on the vast information databases of ScholarlyNews.™ You can expect the information about Biophotonics in this eBook to be deeper than what you can access anywhere else, as well as consistently reliable, authoritative, informed, and relevant. The content of Issues in Bioengineering and Bioinformatics: 2012 Edition has been produced by the world’s leading scientists, engineers, analysts, research institutions, and companies. All of the content is from peer-reviewed sources, and all of it is written, assembled, and edited by the editors at ScholarlyEditions™ and available exclusively from us. You now have a source you can cite with authority, confidence, and credibility. More information is available at http://www.ScholarlyEditions.com/.

Biophotonics involves understanding how light interacts with biological matter, from molecules and cells, to tissues and even whole organisms. Light can be used to probe biomolecular events, such as gene expression and protein–protein interaction, with impressively high sensitivity and specificity. The spatial and temporal distribution of biochemical constituents can also be visualized with light and, thus, the corresponding physiological dynamics in living cells, tissues, and organisms in real time. Light can also be used to alter the properties and behaviors of biological matter, such as to damage cancerous cells by laser surgery or therapy, and manipulate the neuronal signaling in a brain network. Fueled by the innovations in photonic technologies in the past half century, biophotonics continues to play a ubiquitous role in revolutionizing basic life science studies as well as biomedical diagnostics and therapies. Advancements in biophotonics in the past few decades can be seen not only in biochemistry and cell/molecular biology, but also in numerous preclinical applications. Researchers around the world are searching for ways to bring biophotonic technologies into real clinical practices, particularly cellular and molecular optical imaging. Meanwhile, emerging technologies, such as laser nanosurgery and nanoplasmonics, have created new insights for understanding, monitoring, and even curing diseases on a molecular basis. This book presents the essential basics of optics and biophotonics to newcomers (senior undergraduates or postgraduate researchers) who are interested in this multidisciplinary research field. With stellar contributions from leading experts, the book highlights the major advancements in preclinical diagnostics using optical microscopy and spectroscopy, including multiphoton microscopy, super-resolution microscopy, and endomicroscopy. It also introduces a number of emerging techniques and toolsets for biophotonics applications, such as nanoplasmonics, microresonators for molecular detection, and subcellular optical nanosurgery.