Fluorescence lifetime determination for application in microscopy

A recent development in fluorescence microscopy is fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy. In this type of microscopy the lifetime of the excited state of the fluorescent molecules is of interest rather than the amount of light emitted. By evaluating the response -emission lightof the system -fluorescent moleculesto a specific input signal -excitation light-, the fluorescent lifetime can be determined. Different input signals are possible: light pulses, sinusoidally modulated light and white-noise modulated light. In this paper we will describe two systems under development in our laboratory based on the latter two input signals.