TUNABLE TIME-RESOLVED FLUORESCENCE MICROSCOPY

DEVELOPMENT OF A TIME-RESOLVED FLUORESCENCE MICROSCOPY SYSTEM IS PROPOSED. THE SYSTEM WOULD EMPLOY ACOUSTOOPTIC TUNABLE FILTERS AS SPECTRAL TUNING ELEMENTS IN LIEU OF THE CONVENTIONAL INTERFERENCE FILTERS, AND A PHASE-MODULATED IMAGE DISSECTOR TUBE (OR A NANOSECOND GATED CCD) AS A DETECTOR. THE COMBINATION OF THESE TECHNOLOGIES IS EXPECTED TO RESULT IN A DRAMATIC IMPROVEMENT IN SENSITIVITY,VERSATILITY AND ANALYSIS SPEED. THE ABILITY TO PERFORM FLUORESCENCE LIFETIME MEASUREMENTS IN TWO DIMENSIONS SHOULD ENABLE MICROSCOPISTS TO QUANTITATE QUENCHING CORRECTIONS WHICH ARE NECESSARY TO RELATE MEASURED SIGNALS TO FLUOROPHORE CONCENTRATION.