Gregorio Weber is acknowledged to be the person responsible for many of the more important theoretical and experimental developments in modern fluorescence spectroscopy. In particular, Weber pioneered the application of fluorescence spectroscopy to the biological sciences. His list of achievements includes:-The synthesis and use of dansyl chloride as a probe of protein hydrodynamics -The extension of Perrin's theory of fluorescence polarization to fluorophores associated with random orientations with ellipsoids of revolution and to mixtures of fluorophores -The first spectral resolution of the fluorescence of the aromatic amino acids and of intrinsic fluorescence of proteins -The first demonstration that both FAD and NADH make internal complexes -The first report on aromatic secondary amines, which are strongly fluorescent in apolar solvents, but hardly in water, the most spectacular case being the anilino-naphthalene sulfonates CANS) -The first description of the use of the fluorescence of small molecules as probes for the viscosity of micelles, with implications for membrane systems -A general formulation of depolarization by energy transfer -The discovery of the "red-edge" effect in homo-energy transfer -The development of modern cross-correlation phase fluorometry -The development of the excitation-emission matrix method for resolving contributions from multiple fluorophores -The synthesis of several novel fluorophores, including pyrenebutyric acid, IAEDANS, bis-ANS, PRODAN, and LAURDAN, designed to probe dynamic aspects of biomolecules In addition to these seminal contributions, Gregorio Weber also trained and inspired generations of spectroscopists and biophysicists who went on to make important contributions in their fields, including both basic research as well as the commercialization of fluorescence methodologies and their extension into the clinical and biomedical disciplines.
OverviewDuring the last few decades, fluorescence spectroscopy has evolved from a narrow, highly specialized technique into an important discipline widely utilized in the biological, chemical, and physical sciences. Fluorescence methodologies have also assumed an increasingly important role in the clinical and medical sciences. There are now world-renowned centers for fluorescence spectroscopy, highly successful commercial enterprises specializing in fluorescence instrumentation, fluorescence based clinical instruments in virtually all hospital laboratories, and thousands of practitioners worldwide. As in all scientific disciplines, the development of modern fluorescence spectroscopy has benefited