Fluorochrome
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Fluorochrome
a substance used in fluorescence, or luminescence, microscopy to study objects that do not possess a natural capacity to fluoresce. When fluorochromes are introduced into an organism, they are adsorbed by the cells, which consequently acquire the capacity to fluoresce. Fluorochromes may be dyes (auramine, coryphosphin), pigments and their derivatives (chlorophyll, porphyrin), or alkaloids (berberine). Fluorescence in microscopic objects stained with fluorochromes is brought about by ultraviolet, violet, or blue light. Fluorescence microscopy with the use of fluorochromes brings out structural details more clearly than does ordinary staining, especially in the case of biological specimens. Because the fluorescence microscopy method is highly sensitive, the fluorochrome concentration can be very low and consequently living organisms can be observed and their metabolic processes studied.
REFERENCES
Levshin, V. L. Fotoliuminestsentsiia zhidkikh i tverdykh veshchestv. Moscow-Leningrad, 1951.Zelenin, A. V. Liuminestsentnaia tsitokhimiia nukleinovykh kislot. Moscow, 1967.