This book summarizes the results of the NATO Advanced Research Workshop on "Syntheses, Optical Properties, and Applications of Near-Infrared (NIR) Dyes in High Technology Fields" held at Trest (Czech Republic) from September 24 to 27, 1997. It was attended by 52 scientists from 16 countries, among them 18 participants from 8 Eastern-Europe. The Workshop has been stimulated by the great progress that has been made in utilizing NIR dyes in high technology areas. This has been triggered by the availability of reliable. vel)' small, and inexpensive laser diodes emitting in the NIR region which raise the analytical detection limits by several orders of magnitude, allow time-resolved measurements for temporal discrimination between spectrally similar species, and make possible miniaturization as well as remote sensing through space and by fiber optical techniques. Furthermore, NIR dyes proved to be vel)' important in other high technology fields such as laser physics, optical recording techniques, nonlinear optics, biochemistty and medicine.

Zusammenfassung
Proceedings of the NATO Advanced Research Workshop on Syntheses, Optical Properties and Applications of Near-Infrared (NIR) Dyes in High Technology Fields, Trest, Czech Republic, September 24-27, 1997

Inhalt
Advances in Methodology.- Recent Developments in Fluorescence Spectroscopy: Three-Photon Excitation, Two-Color Two-Photon Excitation, Light Quenching and Development of Long-Lifetime Probes for Biophysics and Clinical Chemistry.- Near-Infrared Fluorescence Instrumentation for DNA Analysis.- Highlights in Biochemistry and Biophysics.- Ultrasensitive Detection and Identification of Biomolecules with Diode Lasers - from DYES to DNA.- Incorporation of Dye in Resting and Stimulated Leukocytes.- Application of Red Fluorescent Probes for the Measurement of Individual Cell Cytoplasmic pH Values.- Molecular Probes Based on Cyanine Dyes for Nucleic Acid Research.- New NIR Dyes: Synthesis, Spectral Properties and Applications in DNA Analyses.- Frontiers in Analytical Chemistry and Sensor Technology.- Luminescent Probes for NIR Sensing Applications.- NIR Fluorophores in Practical Analytical Chemistry.- Long Wavelength Emitting Fluorescence Probes for Metal Ions.- Advances in High Technology Applications.- NIR Dyes for Information Recording, from Origin to Update.- Tuning of Color by Different Alignment of Dye Molecules.- Spectral Sensitization of Silver Halides in NIR Region.- Optical Properties and Applications of Near Infrared Dyes in Polymeric Media.- Insolubilisation and Fluorescence, Induced by Laser Diode Irridiation of IR-Dyes Embedded in Polymer Filins. Thermally Induced Latex Coalescence and Acid Generation.- NIR Photosensitizers in Photodynamic Therapy.- New Chromophores.- Molecular Engineering of NIR Dyes.- New NIR Dyes Based on the Cyclopentadienylium Chromophore and Related Compounds.- New Cyanine Dyes Absorbing in the NIR Region.- Near-Infrared Cyanine Dyes: A New Approach to an Old Problem.- Adventures in Search of New Dyes Absorbing in the Red or Near Infrared Region.