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To those who responded to my query,

I just wanted to thank everyone for their input into the problem I'm
having.  I was blissfully unaware of the serious quenching problem that
occurs with fluorophores in close juxtaposition to gold (and other metals)
and will make sure our physical-science friends know of this.  I'm also
trying to get a direct response from Leica about the reflection problem (I
don't think the scope is seriously out of whack) and will let you know
what I find out.

In the meantime I'll direct people to use our cooled CCD camera as I know
we can at least get SOME results.  Oh, and I wanted to agree with one of
the responders about the misconceptions that some people have as to the
detection ability of the Leica TCS SP2.  I have one professor who wants to
essentially visualize a single fluorescent molecule on a gold surface --
FITC no less.  I'm just glad I live in a city with drive-through daiquiri
shops.

Thanks again,

David Burk
Socolofsky Microscopy Center
Department of Biological Sciences
Louisiana State University