Using Becker & Hickl TCSPC FLIM systems with fast TCSPC modules and fast detectors, we found ultra-fast fluorescence decay components in biological material, such as mushroom spores, pollen grains, plant tissue, and malignant melanoma. The component decay times are on the order of 10 to 50 ps, the amplitudes range from about 60% to more than 99%. In general, the shortest lifetimes and the largest amplitudes of the fast component were found in strongly coloured material, such as black mushroom spores and melanoma tissue. However, the lifetime not always correlates with the colour. In particular, a fast decay component was not found in tissue from basal cell papilloma, although it is dark brown. This may open a way to identify melanoma tissue and melanoma cells, and thus provide a new tool to investigate melanoma progression.
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