Steady-state and time-resolved two-photon fluorescence microscopy: a versatile tool for probing cellular environment and function

Abstract

In the last decade, the two-photon fluorescence laser-scanning microscopy (TPLSM) has become an indispensable tool for the bioscientific and biomedical research. TPLSM techniques as well as their applications are currently experiencing a dramatic evolution and represent the focus of many biophysical research projects. In this work, we compare in detail two steady-state TPLSM techniques, i.e. single-beam scanning microscopy combined with point-detection (SB-PMT) and multi-beam scanning microscopy combined with synchronous detection (MB-CCD), as far as their technical characteristics relevant for the bioscientific research are concerned, i.e. optical performance and imaging speed. We demonstrate that the SB-PMT technique is more adequate for deep-tissue imaging (few 100 μm depth) than the MB-CCD technique, whereas only the MB-CCD technique enables high-speed imaging for characterizing the dynamics of fast biological phenomena. Novel applications of these techniques are additionally discussed. Moreover, we employ a time-resolved TPLSM technique, i.e. biexponential fluorescence lifetime imaging based on the cellular fluorescence of the nicotinamide pyridine dinucleotides NADH and NADPH, which allows us to probe for the first time the redox cellular metabolism of MIN6 cells (mutated insulin producing pancreatic β-cells) as well as to show the potential of this method for the specific and dynamic investigation of NADH- and NADPH-dependent cellular processes.