Abstract
The development of fluorescent Ca2+ indicators made us possible to measure the intracellular Ca2+ concentration easily. Furthermore the analysis of fluorescent images obtained by a fluorescence microscope became easy and popular, because of the tremendous development of computers and related hardwares. Time courses and topographical differences in Ca2+ concentration can be demonstrated as two dimensional color-coded images. Such images are sometimes quite persuasive. That is just “Seeing is believing”. We can detect a completely new site of biological phenomena through this method. This article will describe many different types of Ca2+ indicators and applications to biological image analysis. Especially the method called “macro” image analysis can demonstrate the regional difference in changes of the Ca2+ concentration of slice preparation during medical treatment of cerebral ischemia. Already more than ten years have passed since the first demonstration of a fluorescent Ca2+ indicator, quin 2, and the methods using such Ca2+ indicators become important in the field of experimental biology.
