The organization of this
theme issue broadly reflects the scope of
imaging technologies and their relative complexities. After broad-ranging introductory papers, there are a series of articles which review, and/or provide ‘case histories’ to illustrate, applications of
fluorescence imaging techniques.The decision to compile this Advanced Drug
Delivery Reviews theme issue came from a wish to highlight the potential of fluorescence imaging technology to contribute to many
aspects of pharmaceutical
research. Fluorescence imaging has, over the last 20 years or so, made a significant impact in many areas of drug delivery research, from formulation to analysis of the distribution of drug delivery vehicles and characterisation of cellular barriers to delivery. Readers can scarcely have failed to notice the massive expansion in the use of fluorescence imaging in all fields of biomedical sciences over recent years. This has arisen from, on the one hand, the emergence of new fluorescent probes, including the near-ubiquitous Green Fluorescent Protein (GFP) and its derivatives, that have provided new ways of labelling almost anything of interest to the biomedical researcher and, on the other hand, technological developments in imaging systems, including new imaging modes, software, computing power and laser technology. Conventional (wide-field) fluorescence microscopes are available to virtually every researcher, and more sophisticated technologies .It is clear that some understanding of the basic concepts of fluorescence and of theoretical aspects of the available fluorescence imaging technology are required in order to appreciate how such technology can best be applied to specific research areas.It should also be stressed that continued improvements in advanced light microscopy techniques are making these technologies increasingly accessible, user-friendly, flexible and powerful. It is clear that fluorescence imaging has enormous potential in all aspects of biomedical sciences and I hope that this theme issue will help to further promote the use of high-quality fluorescence imaging technologies by the pharmaceutical research community. Finally, I would like to thank all the reviewers for their constructive comments on the submitted manuscripts and the ADDR executive editor, Mark Gumbleton, for commissioning this issue and his invaluable support at each stage of its development.
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