The general picture we have of membranes and of the properties of the proteins imbedded in them, has, arguably emerged directly from probe studies over the past 20 years. This work is designed to make these techniques accessible to a board audience of cell biologists. The techniques discussed revolve primarily around the fluorescence of membrane probes, but applications of light absorption and Raman scattering are included. In addition to reviews of the major applications, most chapters include information on the required apparatus, experimental design, data analysis, and potential pit falls.

The optical spectra of molecular membrane probes can be interpreted terms of the structure, dynamics, and the physiological state of the membrane. The general picture we have of membranes and of the properties of the proteins imbedded in them, has, arguably, emerged directly from probe studies over the last 20 years. This work is designed to make these techniques accessible to a broad audience of cell biologist. The techniques discussed revolve primarily around the fluorescence of membrane probes, but applications of light absorption and Raman scattering are included. In addition to reviews of the major applications, most chapters include information on required apparatus, experimental design, data analysis, and potential pitfalls.

The general picture we have of membranes and of the properties of the proteins imbedded in them, has, arguably emerged directly from probe studies over the past 20 years. This work is designed to make these techniques accessible to a board audience of cell biologists. The techniques discussed revolve primarily around the fluorescence of membrane probes, but applications of light absorption and Raman scattering are included. In addition to reviews of the major applications, most chapters include information on the required apparatus, experimental design, data analysis, and potential pit falls.

The general picture we have of membranes and of the properties of the proteins imbedded in them, has, arguably emerged directly from probe studies over the past 20 years. This work is designed to make these techniques accessible to a board audience of cell biologists. The techniques discussed revolve primarily around the fluorescence of membrane probes, but applications of light absorption and Raman scattering are included. In addition to reviews of the major applications, most chapters include information on the required apparatus, experimental design, data analysis, and potential pit falls.

Biological membranes play a central role in cell structure, shape and functions. However, investigating the membrane bilayer has proved to be difficult due to its highly dynamic and anisotropic structure, which generates steep gradients at the nanometer scale. Due to the decisive impact of recently developed fluorescence-based techniques, tremendous advances have been made in the last few years in our understanding of membrane characteristics and functions. In this context, the present book illustrates some of these major advances by collecting review articles written by highly respected experts. The book is organized in three parts, the first of which deals with membrane probes and model membranes. The second part describes the use of advanced quantitative and high-resolution techniques to explore the properties of biological membranes, illustrating the key progress made regarding membrane organization, dynamics and interactions. The third part is focused on the investigation of membrane proteins using the same techniques, and notably on the membrane receptors that play a central role in signaling pathways and therapeutic strategies. All chapters provide comprehensive information on membranes and their exploration for beginners in the field and advanced researchers alike.

The increased use of fluorescence techniques is greatly enhanced by the improved instrumentation pioneered by inventive scientists and now made available commercially by several high-tech companies. Moreover, the design and development of many new molecular probes with higher selectivity for specific microenvironmental properties has stimulated many new researchers to employ fluorescence techniques for solving their problems. This topic book, the second in his series, reflects this exciting scientific progress and deals, among others, with new approaches and new probes in fluorescence spectroscopy, single molecule fluorescence, applications in biomembrane and enzyme studies and imaging of living cells.