Project Summary/Abstract: For biomedical imaging applications, fluorescent molecular probes play an essential role, as their use enables selective display of specific cellular structures and blood vessels. The project seeks to acquire a modern fluorometer that is capable of detecting fluorescence in near infrared (NIR) region. Such an instrument is necessary for characterization of the new fluorescent compounds. By enhancing our capability to characterize the fluorescent properties of new compounds, the requested new fluorometer will speed up the process in developing the new fluorescent compounds for imaging applications, which is the major goal for the current NIH research project.