Shpol'skii fluorimetric determination of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in complex environmental samples

Summary High-resolution fluorimetry in low-temperature n-alkane Shpol'skii matrices is a powerful technique for the analysis of rigid, non-polar compounds like polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. Because of the method's sensitivity and selectivity, sample clean-up, preconcentration and even chromatographic separation can often be left out. The Shpol'skii analysis of pyrene in crude extracts from marine sediments and from bird meat is demonstrated. Special attention is focussed on the extra possibilities acquired when a laser is used as excitation source (Laser Excited Shpol'skii Spectroscopy, LESS).