Lasers and life's molecules
Research by the Photonics Group
Paul French and his group in the Blackett Laboratory of Imperial College are developing a new way to watch molecules inside living tissue. They use ultrafast lasers to observe proteins and other molecules.
The traditional methods for studying biological molecules use dyes or antibodies. Most of these methods kill the samples. The appeal of the new method with lasers is that it offers more information while causing little or no harm.
The technique is based on the fact that molecules glow in laser light. The colour and brightness of the glow, coupled with the time it takes to fade, provides a 'fingerprint' for identifying molecules.
In time this technique may help to diagnose diseases such as cancer or arthritis even before the symptoms become noticeable to the patient.
Submitted by: Illustration from the Photonics Group showing a FLIM tissue image of part of a rat ear, 27 August 2003
