The bh DCS-120 MP system is able to record single decay functions at extremely high precision and time resolution. We used the system to record decay functions of NADH and FAD in solution with an IRF width of 19 ps. The decay functions are multi-exponential, with lifetime components down to 115 ps for NADH and 59 ps for FAD. Such fast decay components have been suspected earlier, but the DCS-120 measurements shows them directly for the first time. Precision measurements with FLIM systems can be used to support FLIM experiments with precision decay parameters of the fluorophores involved. Apart from the high time resolution, the advantages are that the excitation and detection wavelengths are the same, the system IRF is the same, transit time-effects in a cuvette are avoided, and reabsorption effects are negligible due to the small size of the observation volume. Similar experiments can be performed with other bh FLIM systems, especially if these are equipped with bh’s ultra-fast HPM-100-06 detectors. For more information please see application note, ‘High-Resolution Measurement of NADH and FAD Fluorescence Decay with DCS-120 M‘
