Fluorescent Probes

Abstract

Fluorescent probes represent one of the most widely developing fields in biology and medicine^1–4 Their application potential is enormous. Probes are dyes employed act as “molecular reporters”. The information about what is going on in their molecular neighbourhood can be derived from their fluorescence signal and their location inside cells can be determined from fluorescence microscopy images. All fluorescence parameters such as fluorescence intensity, quantum yield, emission spectrum, excitation spectrum, polarization (anisotropy), lifetime, time-resolved fluorescence intensity and time-resolved fluorescence polarization can be used for encoding what is happening in the close (i. e. molecular) neighborhood of the “spying” molecule. Interdependence of fluorescence parameters, many of them being related by physical equations, may serve as a check of the correctness of the experimental procedure. This is very important when working with a biological material.