This book is an account of the original papers presented by the participants of the 3rd Alexander Gurwitsch Conference on the Biophotonics and Coherent Systems in Biology, Biophysics and Biotechnology which took place in Tauric University (Crimea, Ukraine) September 27 – October 1, 2004. It features an introduction by Dr. Fritz-Albert Popp (International Institute for Biophysics), leading pioneer of biophotons.

Most of the specialists working in this interdisciplinary field of physics, biology, biophysics and medicine are associated with "The International Institute of Biophysics" (IIB), in Neuss, Germany, where basic research and possibilities for applications are coordinated. The growth in this field is indicated by the increase in financial support, interest from the scientific community and frequency of publications. Audience: The scientists of IIB have presented the most essential background and applications of biophotonics in these lecture notes in biophysics, based on the summer school lectures by this group. This book is devoted to questions of elementary biophysics, as well as current developments and applications. It will be of interest to graduate and postgraduate students, life scientists, and the responsible officials of industries and governments looking for non-invasive methods of investigating biological tissues.

Paras Prasad’s text provides a basic knowledge of a broad range of topics so that individuals in all disciplines can rapidly acquire the minimal necessary background for research and development in biophotonics. Introduction to Biophotonics serves as both a textbook for education and training as well as a reference book that aids research and development of those areas integrating light, photonics, and biological systems. Each chapter contains a topic introduction, a review of key data, and description of future directions for technical innovation. Introduction to Biophotonics covers the basic principles of Optics Optical spectroscopy Microscopy Each section also includes illustrated examples and review questions to test and advance the reader’s knowledge. Sections on biosensors and chemosensors, important tools for combating biological and chemical terrorism, will be of particular interest to professionals in toxicology and other environmental disciplines. Introduction to Biophotonics proves a valuable reference for graduate students and researchers in engineering, chemistry, and the life sciences.

This book addresses the phenomenon of biological autoluminescence (also known as ultraweak photon emission, UPE, biochemiluminescence, or biophotons) and deals with a very broad spectrum of subjects, ranging from basic observational studies to molecular mechanisms, free-radical processes, physics of electron excitation and photon emission, as well as detection techniques. The chapter topics include UPE in plants, animals, and the human body; microorganisms and subcellular structures; and model systems, illustrating its high prevalence. Several sections of the book provide some backstory, with emphasis on methodology, unresolved questions, and existing controversies. The authors raise and discuss complex, potentially divisive aspects: Are there any reasons to assume the existence of non-chemical interaction in biological systems? Can research results in the field of mitogenetic radiation, delayed luminescence, and oxychemiluminescence of model systems, be correctly interpreted? What does the future hold for this area of research? Altogether, this publication gives the reader a thorough overview of biological autoluminescence (UPE, biophotonics) research, making it ideal for students and researchers who are new to the area as well as those who are specializing in it.

It is now well established that all living systems emit a weak but permanent photon flux in the visible and ultraviolet range. This biophoton emission is correlated with many, if not all, biological and physiological functions. There are indications of a hitherto-overlooked information channel within the living system. Biophotons may trigger chemical reactivity in cells, growth control, differentiation and intercellular communication, i.e. biological rhythms. The basic experimental and theoretical framework as well as the technical problems and the wide field of applications in the biotechnical, biomedical engineering, engineering, medicine, pharmacology, environmental science and basic science fields are presented in this book. To promote the dialog and mutual penetration between biophoton research and photon technology is one of the important goals for the International Conference on Biophotons & Biophotonics 2003, and is developed and presented in Biophotonics: Optical Science and Engineering in the 21st Century.

Biophotonics involves understanding how light interacts with biological matter, from molecules and cells, to tissues and even whole organisms. Light can be used to probe biomolecular events, such as gene expression and protein-protein interaction, with impressively high sensitivity and specificity. The spatial and temporal distribution of biochemic

Biophoton emission now belongs to a topical field of modern science: It concerns a weak light emision from biological systems. Such molecular events are clearly compatible with collective phenomena as shown by recent developments in the life sciences such as the chaos theory. This book is concerned with the ?optical window? of biological interactions and in view of their correlations to many biological functions they provide a powerful, non-invasive tool of analysing biological systems. Topics include food science, pollution, efficacy of drugs including the treatment of cancer and immune diseases, and communication phenomena such as consciousness.The collection of articles in this book covers the historical background, the physics of biophoton emission, those biological phenomena which show evidence of a ?holistic? character, and finally discusses applications and biological evolution. This volume serves to bring researchers up-to-date on the subject and draws attention to the many exciting findings that are widely scattered in the scientific literature.