Multiphoton fluorescence microscopy for biomedical imaging

Laser scanning imaging techniques are a powerful tool in investigating microscopic processes with high resolution in three dimensions. A recent extension of this method by use of multiphoton excitation of fluorophores attached to cells under study is opening up many new areas of research in developmental biology, neurology and in the physiology of cells. Multiphoton imaging is minimally invasive and has the capability of enabling images to be formed deep into cells. The developments in multiphoton imaging have been made possible by the development of reliable and compact all solid state femtosecond lasers. The development of these light sources and some examples of their application in the biological sciences are described