Skip to main content
MENU
Home An Employee-Owned Company Producing the World's Finest Optical Filters
  • Browse by Fluorochrome
  • Spectra Viewer
  • Products
    • Overview
    • Optical Filters
    • Complete Filter Sets
    • Filter Accessories
  • OEM/Engineering
  • Company
    • Careers
    • Commitment to Quality
  • News & Events
  • Support
    • Overview
    • Customer Support
    • Technical Support
  • Knowledge & Resources
    • Overview
    • About Fluorescence
    • Image Gallery
  • Contact
Order From Quote
Cart:0
  • Overview
  • About Fluorescence
  • Image Gallery
Knowledge & Resources

The Fluorescence Phenomenon

  • Overview
  • About Fluorescence
  • Image Gallery

2-3Color TIRF

Fluorescence is a molecular phenomenon in which a substance radiates light energy almost instantaneously upon being struck with light from another source. Some energy from this incident light is absorbed by this substance, meaning that the radiated light is typically of lower energy (and thus longer wavelength) than that of the source. The process of light absorption and radiation is known as excitation and emission. Fluorescence is exhibited by most organic and non-organic substances and in the early days of fluorescence microscopy (at the turn of the century) microscopists looked at this natural, primary fluorescence, called autofluorescence.  

The utilization of fluorescence as an imaging modality has become an invaluable tool for researchers, particularly those in the biological and material science fields, studying substances which were previously ‘invisible’ under other forms of microscopy. Biologists can, as mentioned above, stain very specific sub-cellular components with fluorescent molecules, allowing them to highlight their location in the cell and study potential molecular interactions at very high resolutions. The image in figure 3, for example, was made by utilizing optical filters to image the conjugation of three different fluorochromes to three different cellular targets. In this image, MitoTracker Red, Alexa Fluor 488 and DAPI are conjugated to the cell's mitochondria, actin filaments, and nuclei, respectively. 

Figure 2: Three-color TIRF image of a normal African green monkey kidney fibroblast cell (CV-1). Image courtesy of Michael W. Davidson of the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory, The Florida State University

 

<< Working in Wavelengths || Fluorochrome Spectra >>

  • Build a Filter Quote
  • Order From Quote
  • Contact
  • Shipping & Returns

 

 

Chroma Technology Corp | An Employee-Owned Company
89 North | Light sources for fluorescence imaging

© 2020 Chroma Technology Corporation. All rights reserved.
10 Imtec Lane, Bellows Falls, VT 05101 USA
Tel 800.824.7662 • Fax 802.428.2525 •
sales@chroma.com
Media Queries: media@chroma.com
Terms of Use  /  Privacy Policy

NQA ISO-9001 Logo - ANAB
By using this website, you agree to our use of cookies. We use cookies to improve the user experience and to help our website run effectively. To learn more, read our Privacy Policy.