Introduction

The purpose of this technical bulletin is to provide an introduction to fluorescence microscopy to newcomers to the technique, and to collect a variety of protocols for specific applications of fluorescence in one place. In the course of my graduate research and in my role as manager of the light microscopes for the Beckman Institute's Imaging Technology Group, I have gained a fair amount of experience with fluorescence microscopy, particularly in its application to cell biological applications. In this bulletin, I have tried to assemble some of the techniques and lore that I have found particularly useful. As with many technical skills, successful preparation of specimens for fluorescence microscopy is not really 'cookbook', but rather benefits from experience and demands a certain aesthetic attention. It is my hope that by recording what I have learned about microscopy here, I can help to impart some technical knowledge to newcomers to the technique, thereby allowing them to focus their energies on its art and beauty.

Copyright @ 1999 Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois

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