An account of a three-year research program funded by the German government, in which physicists and physical chemists set off together with biologists and physicians to develop new techniques for medical and biological problems and ended up with sophisticated scientific solutions and innovative equipment, partly ready for the market. It not only includes a concise description of the new discoveries but also offers also an introduction to the various fields within optics.

Table of Contents:
List of Contributors. 1 Introduction: Biophotonics - Visions for Better Health Care (S. Liedtke, M. Schmitt, M. Strehle, J. Popp). 1.1 The Situation of Biophotonics in Germany and Other Countries. 1.2 Interplay between light and matter. 1.3 A Fascinating Tour Across Biophotonics. 1.4 Links and Literature about Biophotonics. 2 Online Monitoring of Airborne Allergenic Particles (OMNIBUSS) (S. Scharring, A. Brandenburg, G. Breitfuss, H. Burkhardt, W. Dunkhorst, M. v. Ehr, M. Fratz, D. Giel, U. Heimann, W. Koch, H. Lodding, W. Muller, O. Ronneberger, E. Schultz, G. Sulz, Q. Wang). 2.1 Introduction. 2.2 Monitoring Bioaerosols: State-of-the-Art. 2.3 Online Monitoring of Airborne Allergenic Particles by Microscopic Techniques. 2.4 Summary / Outlook. Glossary. Key References. References. 3 Online Monitoring and Identification of Bioaerosol (OMIB) (P. Rosch, M. Harz, M. Krause, R. Petry, K.-D. Peschke, H. Burkhardt, O. Ronneberger, A. Schule, G. Schmauz, R. Riesenberg, A. Wuttig, M. Lankers, S. Hofer, H. Thiele, H.-W. Motzkus, J. Popp). 3.1 Bioaerosol and the Relevance of Microorganisms. 3.2 Diagnosis of Microorganisms: State-of-the-Art. 3.3 Innovative Optical Technologies to Identify Bioaerosol. 3.4 Instrumentation of a Fully Automated Microorganism Fingerprint Sensor. 3.5 Outlook. Glossary. Key References. References. 4 Novel Singly Labelled Probes for Life Science Applications (SMART PROBES) (O. Nolte, M. Muller, B. Hafner, J. P. Knemeyer, K. Stohr, J. Wolfrum, R. Hakenbeck, D. Denapaite, J. Schwarz-Finsterle, S. Stein, E. Schmitt, C. Cremer, D. P. Herten, M. Hausmann, M. Sauer). 4.1 Introduction: The Requirement for Novel Probes. 4.2 The Principle of SMART PROBES. 4.3 Instrumentation. 4.4 Applications. 4.5 Summary / Outlook. Glossary. Key References. References. 5 Early Diagnosis of Cancer (PLOMS) (J. Helfmann, U. Bindig, B. Meckelein, K. Wehry, N. Rockendorf, D. Schadel, M. A. Schmidt,M. Burger, A. Frey). 5.1 Cancer: Epidemiological, Medical and Biological Background. 5.2 Diagnosing Cancer: State-of-the-Art. 5.3 Emerging Optical Techniques in Cancer Diagnosis. 5.4 The Future of Fluorescence Techniques in Cancer Diagnosis. 5.5 Summary. Glossary. Key References. References. 6 New Methods for Marker-free Live Cell and Tumor Analysis (MIKROSO) (G. v. Bally, B. Kemper, D. Carl, S. Knoche, M. Kempe, C. Dietrich, M. Stutz, R. Wolleschensky, K. Schutze, M. Stich, A. Buchstaller, K. Irion, J. Beuthan, I. Gersonde, J. Schnekenburger). 6.1 Introduction. 6.2 Cellular Analysis by Interference-basedMicroscopy. 6.3 Minimally Invasive Holographic Endoscopy. 6.4 Ultrasensitive Interference Spectroscopy for Marker-free Biosensor Technology. 6.5 Outlook. Glossary. Key References. References. 7 Regenerative Surgery (MeMo) (V. Andresen, H. Spiecker, J. Martini, K. Tonsing, D. Anselmetti, R. Schade, S. Grohmann, G. Hildebrand, K. Liefeith). 7.1 Regenerative Surgery and Tissue Engineering: Medical and Biological Background. 7.2 State-of-the-art and Markets. 7.3 Cell and Tissue Culture Technologies. 7.4 Controlled Tissue Cultivation Through Laser Optical Online Monitoring. 7.5 Characterization and Evaluation of Tissues by Innovative Biophotonic Technologies. 7.6 Results and Application. 7.7 Summary and Outlook. Glossary. Key References. References. 8 Microarray Biochips - Thousands of Reactions on a Small Chip (MOBA) (W. Monch, J. Donauer, B. M. Fischer, R. Frank, G. Gauglitz, C. Glasenapp, H. Helm, P. Hing, M. Hoffmann, P. Uhd Jepsen, T. Kleine-Ostmann, M. Koch, H. Krause, N. Leopold, T. Mutschler, F. Rutz, T. Sparna, H. Zappe). 8.1 Introduction. 8.2 Microarrays: Biological Background. 8.3 Fluorescence Techniques. 8.4 Optical Systems for Fluorescence Analysis. 8.5 Label-free Techniques. 8.6 Terahertz Spectroscopy. 8.7 Outlook. Glossary. Key References. References. 9 Hybrid Optodes (HYBOP) (D. Gansert, M. Arnold, S. Borisov, C. Krause, A. Muller, A. Stangelmayer, O. Wolfbeis). 9.1 Introduction. 9.2 Optical Sensors - State-of-the-Art. 9.3 Planar and Fibrous Optodes - New Optical Tools for Non- and Minimally Invasive Analysis. 9.4 Fluorescence Optical Hybrid Optodes - the Technology of Tomorrow. 9.5 Hybrid Optodes: Applications and Perspectives in Biotechnology. 9.6 Outlook. Glossary. Key References. References. 10 Digital Microscopy (ODMS) (A. Nolte, C. Dietrich, L. Horing, N. Salmon, E.H.K. Stelzer, A. Riedinger, J. Colombelli, P. Denner, G. Langer, K. Parczyk, C.-D. Voigt, S. Prechtl, U. Lohrs, J. Diebold, V. Mordstein). 10.1 Introduction. 10.2 State-of-the-Art: Digital Microscopy. 10.3 Life Science Applications of the ODMS. 10.4 Summary and Future Trends. Glossary. Key References. References. 11 Outlook: Further Perspectives of Biophotonics (S. Liedtke, M. Schmitt, M. Strehle, J. Popp). 11.1 Future Research Topics. 11.2 Promising Innovative Microscopy Techniques. References. Index.