Theoretical and Applied Physics

Biophotonics

Light is at the center of all biophotonics research. Biophotonics is a relatively new but rapidly growing discipline which uses light to view and analyse living tissues and cells to detect, diagnose and treat dreaded diseases such as cancer, heart disease and Alzheimer’s. The interaction of light with matter results in absorption, fluorescence, reflection and scattering of the beam which can tell us information about the molecule or structure. Biophotonics has thus become an established general term for all techniques that deal with the interaction between biological items and photons. This denotes all the processes from emission, detection, absorption, reflection, modification, and conception of radiation from biomolecular, cells, tissues, organisms and biomaterials. Areas of application are life science, medicine, agriculture, and environmental science.