Development of a pulsed-laser,fiber-optic-based fluorimeter: determination of fluorescence decay times of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in sea water

A fiber-optic-based system for remote measurement of time-resolved fluorescence emission spectra is described and characterized. A pulsed nitrogen laser is used to induce fluorescence and a time-gated, one-dimensional photodiode array is used to measure the decay of the fluorescence emission spectra. The results compare favorably with reported values for well characterized compounds having fluorescence decay times in the range 4–50 ns. The potential of using time-resolved fluorimetry (TRF) over fiber-optic cables as a means of improving the specificity of remote fluorescence determinations of spectrally similar polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in sea water is demonstrated.