In color throughout, this text helps readers acquire a sound understanding of basic fluorescence theory and practice. It takes them through the history of important discoveries to the most current advances. The author introduces the fundamentals of the fluorescence phenomenon and gives detailed examples of fluorescence applications in the molecular life sciences, including biochemistry, biophysics, clinical chemistry and diagnostics, pharmaceutical science, and cell and molecular biology. The text includes references in each chapter, more than 250 figures, and the chemical structures of the most widely used fluorescent molecules.