Ultraviolet laser beam and confocal microscopy - A system for rapid patterned photolysis

Fluorescence microscopy is generally used for the research of biology, medical sciences and other life science fields. Especially, recent advances in laser technologies and in optical engineering have made it possible to investigate the nanoscale mechanisms of physiological and molecular biological processes and thus to extend its application to pathological and clinical investigations in therapeutic sciences. Furthermore, quantitative measurements of the small molecules, ions and proteins participated into the processes in living tissues, in vivo and in vitro, its movements, and locations can be observed with these optical technologies. Among them, the confocal microscopy was firstly invented for the purpose of visualization of such small-scale observations by using proper fluorescent molecules together with laser beams. Although contrast and resolution are degraded by strong scattering of the tissue preparations in the wide field conventional fluorescence microscope, the development of the confocal microscope can overcome some of the effects of scattering, since the detector pinhole rejects fluorescence from off-focus locations