This supplement is a continuing step in the development of Microscopy and Microanalysis. The journal was launched in 1995 under the title JMSA, as the official journal of the Microscopy Society of America. In 1997 the journal was renamed and placed in the hands of Springer-Verlag, one of the world's leading publishers of scientific journals. In order to ensure the completeness and integrity of library collections, the scientific articles from Volumes 1 and 2 of JMSA are reprinted here as a supplement to Microscopy and Microanalysis.

A confocal attachment (Odyssey) to an inverted microscope was modified to better study living cultured epithelial cells stained with fluorescent dyes. Improvements to the instrument included elimination of light leaks, improved electronic shielding, reduction of thermal effects, and use of low dark current detectors. In addition, rapid changes in illumination wavelength and power were accomplished by replacing the original mechanical filter changer by an acousto-optic tunable filter attached to the argon laser light source. The addition of a liquid crystal tunable filter to one of the two photomultiplier detectors also permitted rapid spectral scanning of the fluorescence emission. High-resolution, differential interference contrast transmitted light images were formed simultaneously by replacement of the photodiode-based transmitted light detector with a photomultiplier tube and dichroic mirror assembly. An illumination intensity of only 40 μW/cm2 at the back focal plane of the microscope objective allowed high-quality fluorescence and transmitted light images of living cells at video rates with minimal bleaching and photodynamic damage. Both excitation ratio imaging and emission spectral scanning of living epithelial cells were accomplished. The system performance was evaluated by optical sections of fluorescent beads and thin films.

The ability to observe the behavior of living cells and tissues provides unparalleled access to information regarding the organization and dynamics of complex cellular structures. While great strides have been made over the past 30 to 40 years in the design and application of a variety of novel optical microscopic techniques, until recently, it has not been possible to image biological phenomena that occur over very short time periods (nanosecond to millisecond) or over short distances (10 to 1000 Å). However, the recent combination of (1) very rapidly gated and sensitive image intensifiers and (2) the ability to deliver fluorescence excitation energy to intact living biological specimens in a pulsed or sinusoidally modulated fashion has allowed such measurements to become a reality through the imaging of the lifetimes of fluorescent molecules. This capability has resulted in the ability to observe the dynamic organization and interaction of cellular components on a spatial and temporal scale previously not possible using other microscopic techniques. This paper discusses the implementation of a fluorescence lifetime imaging microscope (FLIM) and provides a review of some of the applications of such an instrument. These include measurements of receptor topography and subunit interactions using fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET), fluorescence anisotropy of phospholipids in cell membranes, cytosolic free calcium (Ca2+)i and the detection of human papillomavirus (HPV) infection in clinical cervicovaginal smears.

Two-photon excitation fluorescence microscopy provides attractive advantages over confocal microscopy for three-dimensionally resolved fluorescence imaging. Two-photon excitation arises from the simultaneous absorption of two photons in a single quantitized event whose probability is proportional to the square of the instantaneous intensity. For example, two red photons (∼700 nm) can cause the transition to an excited electronic state normally reached by absorption in the ultraviolet (∼350 nm). In the fluorescence experiments described here, the final excited state is the same singlet state that is populated during a conventional fluorescence experiment. Thus, the fluorophore exhibits the same emission properties (e.g., wavelength shifts, environmental sensitivity) used in typical biological microscopy studies. Three properties of two-photon excitation give this method its advantage over conventional optical sectioning microscopies: (1) the excitation is limited to the focal volume, thus providing inherent three-dimensional resolution and minimizing photobleaching and photodamage; (2) the two-photon technique allows imaging of UV fluorophores with only conventional visible light optics; (3) red light is far less damaging to most living cells and tissues than UV light and permits deeper sectioning, because both absorbance and scattering are reduced. Many cell biological applications of two-photon excitation microscopy have been successfully realized, demonstrating the wide ranging power of this technique.

New instrumental approaches for performing vibrational Raman, near-infrared and mid-infrared spectroscopic imaging microscopy are described. The instruments integrate imaging quality filters such as acousto-optic tunable filters (AOTFs), with visible charge-coupled device (CCD) and infrared focal-plane array detectors. These systems are used in conjunction with infinity-corrected, refractive microscopes for operation in the visible and near-infrared spectral regions and with Cassegrainian reflective optics for operation in the mid-infrared spectral interval. Chemically specific images at moderate spectral resolution (2 nm) and high spatial resolution (1 μm) can be collected rapidly and noninvasively. Image data are presented containing 128 × 128 pixels, although significantly larger format images can be collected in approximately the same time. The instruments can be readily configured for both absorption and reflectance spectroscopies. We present Raman emission images of polystyrene microspheres and a lipid/amino acid mixture and near-infrared images of onion epidermis and a hydrated phospholipid dispersion. Images generated from mid-infrared spectral data are presented for a KBr disk containing nonhomogeneous domains of lipid and for 50-μm slices of monkey cerebellum. These are the first results illustrating the use of infrared focal-plane array detectors as chemically specific spectroscopic imaging devices and demonstrating their application in biomolecular areas. Extensions and future applications of the various vibrational spectroscopic imaging techniques are discussed.