Fluorescent actinometers enable the measurement of light intensity even in the depths of samples and over wide ranges of wavelengths and intensities. We introduce two protocols to quantitatively characterize the spatial distribution of light of various fluorescence imaging systems and to calibrate the illumination of commercially available instruments and light sources.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Access Nature and 54 other Nature Portfolio journals
Get Nature+, our best-value online-access subscription
$29.99 / 30 days
cancel any time
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 12 print issues and online access
$259.00 per year
only $21.58 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on Springer Link
- Instant access to full article PDF
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
References
Boehm, U. et al. QUAREP-LiMi: a community endeavor to advance quality assessment and reproducibility in light microscopy. Nat. Methods. 18, 1423–1426 (2021). An article that introduces the QUAREP-LiMi community, which is concerned with the measurement of the absolute flux of light at the sample and the assessment of the uniformity of illumination.
Kuhn, H. J., Braslavsky, S. E. & Schmidt, R. Chemical actinometry (IUPAC technical report). Pure Appl. Chem. 76, 2105–2146 (2004). A review that introduces actinometry and its applications.
Valeur, B. & Berberan-Santos, M.-N. Molecular Fluorescence: Principles and Applications 2nd edn (Wiley, 2012). A book that covers the multiple aspects of fluorescence spectroscopy.
Additional information
Publisher’s note Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
This is a summary of: Lahlou, A. et al. Fluorescence to measure light intensity. Nat. Methods https://doi.org/10.1038/s41592-023-02063-y (2023).
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Fluorescent actinometers for fast and simple quantitative measurement of light intensity. Nat Methods 20, 1881–1882 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41592-023-02062-z
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41592-023-02062-z
