Accurate Detection of Low Levels of Fluorescence Emission in Autofluorescent Background: Francisella-Infected Macrophage Cells

Cellular autofluorescence, though ubiquitous when imaging cells and tissues, is often assumed to be small in comparison to the signal of interest. Uniform estimates of autofluorescence intensity obtained from separate control specimens are commonly employed to correct for autofluorescence. While these may be sufficient for high signal-to-background applications, improvements in detector and probe technologies and introduction of spectral imaging...