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Market Profile: Fluorescence Microscopy

Nov 1, 2007

Spectroscopy

Volume 22, Issue 11

 

 

Although overshadowed by other technologies, demand for fluorescence microscopy is already strong and is growing rapidly. The technology is proving to be very useful for specific life science applications.

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Confocal microscopy is one of the standard tools of the traditional laboratory. Although the addition of visual imaging systems on top of the manual microscope added an additional capability, the integration of fluorescence imaging into such instruments provides a very informative secondary dimension. The technique not only provides an image of the relative distribution and concentrations of fluorescent compounds within a specimen, but also can provide spectral data on each point in the image. A fluorescence microscopy or imaging system can also be tuned to display only a specific protein, or the relative concentrations of a certain protein or compound can be profiled. Often, fluorescent compounds or "tags" are added to the specimen to provide the needed contrast, which may not be observable the in the visual spectrum.

 

The applications of fluorescent imaging are centered on biological research, such as neuroscience and cell biology. The technique offers the ability to image and analyze living cells, which often can provide invaluable information. Stem cell research is a particularly hot area of growth.