A confocal laser scanning microscope has been applied to the detailed study of non-invasive mapping on targeted systems. This paper aims to show, by particular reference to specific problems, the wide ranging potential of the technique for the analytical community. The specific problems successfully tackled by the technique include characterization of two types of inert support bodies and the precursor/enzyme distributions therein, the effect of processing on dye penetration in fibres, mapping the interdependence and growth patterns in bacterial colonies and non-invasive examination of epidermal tissue layers.

Tutorial review?Applications of confocal laser scanning microscopy in in-situ mapping

Many consumer products are complex physico-chemical systems, and there is a need to characterize them in the three spatial dimensions and in time. Spectroscopic imaging provides the opportunity to do this non-destructively and in-situ. New developments in detector technology, microscope optics and spectroscopics probes are beginning to generate new types of imaging experiments. Several application examples are given covering both macro- and micro-imaging.© (1991) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.

Philip G. Cummins

Papers

Industrial applications of spectroscopic imaging