On the Sum of Exponentials that Form Molecular Fluorescence Decay Kinetics

Abstract

The least squares method is commonly used to find the parameters and sum of exponentials that form molecular fluorescence decay kinetics. However, the method usually fails to lead to a global minimum of approximation, and more reliable methods are therefore necessary for finding the sum N of exponentials that form the fluorescence decay kinetics. If the sum of the exponentials is not greater than 8 and the signal-to-noise ratio is higher than a critical ratio, which depends on N, then it is possible to calculate the sum of exponentials that form fluorescence decay kinetics. A direct, noniterative method was developed to solve the problem.