2. Optical microscopy methods in the life sciences

In optical microscopy, probe radiation is either in the UV-visible range for full-field or confocal fluorescence microscopy (linear fluorescence), or in the IR range for MMP (non-linear process). In the former case, the interaction involves the electronic states of the material being probed; in the latter, it may involve electronic or vibrational interactions, in which case chemical bonds are involved. In all cases, the probing role of light results in spectral responses that are collected and reconstructed as a microscopic image of the target. Photons incident on the sample, also known as "excitation photons", undergo a measurable change that depends on the molecular or atomic constitution of the target. The response to this optical stimulation will then be detected to generate an image; information concerning the structural or chemical composition of the target can then be deduced. In...