title: Spectrally resolved fluorescence lifetime imaging microscope using tunable bandpass filters.
abstract: A simple structure of spectral fluorescence lifetime imaging microscope (SLIM) is designed with the use of tunable bandpass filter, a kind of Fabry-perot filter that transmission wavelength is varying according to incident angle of light. Feasibility tests of this angle-tuned bandpass filter (ATBF) are performed and it shows high transmission and constant spectral bandwidth (20 nm) with respect to angle of incidence. Furthermore, using two ATBFs in series, spectral bandwidth can be adjustable down to 4 nm. In this paper, dual ATBFs are implemented to the detection part of fluorescence lifetime imaging microscope (FLIM) system so that we obtained spectrally resolved FLIM images. We compare these SLIM images with an original FLIM image and confirm that the former case provides high accuracy to analyze lifetime distribution as well as high contrast of images. The proposed SLIM microscope with good wavelength selectivity has many opportunities to utilize to other applications such as FLIM-Föster resonant energy transfer and autofluorescence imaging.
authors.affiliation: Department of Mechanical Engineering, KAIST, Daejeon 305-701, South Korea.
authors.forename: Hyeong-Jun
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Jeong
authors.forename: Jin-Woo
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Ahn
authors.forename: Dukho
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Do
authors.forename: Dae-Gab
authors.initials: DG
authors.lastname: Gweon
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D005240:Feasibility Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008168:Lung / Q000166:cytology; D008856:Microscopy, Fluorescence / Q000295:instrumentation*; D013057:Spectrum Analysis / Q000295:instrumentation*