With its IRF width of <20 ps the bh DCS-120 MP multiphoton FLIM system is able to resolve fluorescence decay components down to lifetimes of 10 ps and less. Due to the high temporal resolution fast decay components become directly visible in the decay curves, without presumtions on the decay model or the shape of the system IRF. In pollen grains of a number of different plants we found decay components with lifetimes from 10 ps to 80 ps, and with amplitudes as large as 93 %. Similarly fast decays were found in the tissue of the anthers. Beyond that, the system shows ultra-fast decay components in an unexpectedly wide variety of biological material, such as mushroom spores or mammalian hair. We therefore believe that FLIM in the lower picosecond range should no longer be ignored as a source of biological information. For details please see Application Note.
