Basic Introduction to Fluorescence Microscopy
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Fluorescence is a part of the luminescence family. Luminescence is a process by which molecules emit light from either absorbing light, from mechanical friction or by a chemical mechanism. The generation of luminescence through the excitation of a molecule using ultraviolet or visible light photons is called photoluminescence, which is divided into two categories, fluorescence andphosphorescence. Fluorescence is the property of molecules to absorb light at a particular wavelength and to then emit light of a longer wavelength after a brief interval called the fluorescence lifetime. Phosphorescence occurs in the same way as fluorescence, but with a much longer "excited" state lifetime. |