Non-linear effects due to two-photon near infrared (NIR) excitation of endogenous and exogenous cellular chromophores allow novel techniques in tissue, cell and biomolecule diagnostics, as well as in intracellular micromanipulation (e.g. intracellular photochemistry). Two-photon NIR excitation may also result in cell damage effects. The high photon intensities (10²⁴ photons cm^–2s^–1) required for non-resonant two-photon excitation can be achieved by diffraction-limited focusing of continuous wave (cw) laser beams (cw microbeams) with powers in the mW range. For example, NIR traps (“laser tweezers”) used as force transducers and micromanipulation tools in cellular and molecular biology are sources of two-photon excitation. NIR traps can induce two-photon excited visible fluorescence and, in the case of <800 nm-traps, UVA-like cell damage. Multimode cw microbeams may enhance non-linear effects due to longitudinal mode-beating. To perform high scan rate two-photon fluorescence imaging, the application of ultrashort laser pulses of moderate peak power but low average power (pulsed microbeams) is required. In NIR femtosecond microscopes, non-destructive imaging of two-photon excited fluorophores in various human and culture cells was demonstrated for <2 mW average powers, <200 mW peak powers and 400 GW cm^–2 intensities (700–800 nm, ~150 fs, ~100 MHz). However, higher average power levels may result in failed cell reproduction and cell death due to intracellular optical breakdown. In addition, destructive transient local heating and mN force generation may occur.

Keywords: two-photon excitation, optical trap, femtosecond, microbeam, living cell, non-linear effects, laser micros-copy, fluorescence imaging, fluorescence spectroscopy, NIR.