Introduction
Fluorescence in medicine has enabled researchers to see the invisible.
In the 1950s the NIH's Dr. Robert Bowman developed a sensitive instrument-called the spectrophotofluorometer, or "SPF"-that allowed scientists to use fluorescence as a way to identify and measure tiny amounts of substances in the body. This scientific breakthrough, invented almost half a century ago, is still used today in AIDS research and the Human Genome Project.
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The Move to the NIH (1949)
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Anything Glows (1950-1955)
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In the 1950s and 1960s, AMINCO marketed the SPF to the research field. Company sales representatives traveled across the country to train university faculty and other scientists how to use the instrument. The company even launched a newsletter called Fluorescence News.
AMINCO sold out its initial run of twenty-five instruments, an impressive record in the tiny biomedical research market.
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Let the Research Begin!
Dr. Sidney Udenfriend used the SPF to test the fluorescence of different substances that would be of interest to biological scientists. To the amazement of the profession, he detected fluorescence in many molecules that had not been known to fluoresce! He and Dr. Bowman published a paper on the results of the early experiments with the SPF. Later, Dr. Udenfriend edited two volumes entitled Fluorescence Assay in Biology and Medicine. These works helped other scientists create new ways to use fluorescence in their own research.
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Videos about the uses of fluorescence and the SPF.
"New" Instruments
- Modern SPF
- Cell Sorting
- Gel Electrophoresis
"Current" Fluoresence Research
- HIV Integrase
- DNA Sequencing
- FISH
- Confocal Fluorometry