Over the past decade, two-photon microscopy has successfully made the transition from the laser laboratory into a true biological
research setting. This has been due in part to the recent development of turnkey ultrafast laser systems required for two-photon
microscopy, allowing ease of use in nonspecialist laboratories. The advantages of two-photon microscopy over conventional
optical sectioning techniques are for greater imaging depths and reduced overall phototoxicity, as such enabling noninvasive
intra-vital imaging of cellular and subcellular processes. Greater understanding of these advantages has allowed this technique
to be more effectively utilized in a biological research setting. This review will cover the recent widespread uses of two-photon
microscopy and highlight the wide range of physiological studies enabled in fields such as neurosciences, developmental biology,
immunology, cancer biology, and endocrinology.
Keywords Two-photon microscopy – Optical sectioning – Fluorescence – Intra-vital imaging – Photoactivation – Ablation – Intrinsic fluorophores – Second harmonic generation