16] Alternatives to consider in fluorescence decay analysis

Abstract

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the global analysis of fluorescence decay rate distributions. The chapter illustrates that a “global” (simultaneous, multicurve) least-squares analysis can be of benefit both in identifying the number of species present and in confining the distributions. Global analysis more correctly recovers the centers and widths of the actual lifetime distributions. In particular, although several models can be used, a Gaussian distribution was employed for each term ( j ) to produce an impulse response f j . Decay analysis, whether discrete or distributed, should exploit the multidimensional nature of luminescence data. In conclusion, global analysis can be of benefit for decay distribution recovery. More important, the functional linkages (for example, spectra) directly serve as signatures for states in the system. In fluorescence decay analysis, the maximum entropy method (MEM) has made a significant contribution and is likely to remain a useful tool for visualizing the difficult Laplace inversion.