The clinical use of laser-excited fluorometry.

Many areas of spectroscopy have benefited from the use of laser radiation sources. I present a discussion of the basic properties of the laser and how these properties can be advantageous when laser excitation is used in fluorometry. Although the laser has not yet been accepted as a routine instrument in the clinical laboratory, its unique properties have rendered it useful in several analytical methodologies that are based on fluorometry and used in the clinical or biological fields. Accordingly, I briefly review the practical aspects of some clinical applications of laser-excited fluorometry.