Imaging of Ca(2)+ intracellular dynamics with a third-harmonic generation microscope

We describe the promising development of third-harmonic generation (THG) in laser scanning microscopy for study of the functional imaging of live biological cells. The dynamics of Ca(2+) in biological cells is shown. The Ca(2+) signal consists of a transient increase in the intracellular concentration. THG microscopy allows one to temporally visualize the release of Ca(2+) from internal stores and (or) calcium influx.