Reflection-enhanced laser-induced fluorescence spectroscopy to improve the analytical sensitivity in liquids

The current work demonstrates a novel approach to enhancing the analytical sensitivity of the laser-induced fluorescence (LIF) technique in liquids. An increase in the fluorescence spectral band intensity of about sixfold compared to the conventional LIF has been achieved. Such betterment has been accomplished by having the fluorophore liquid in a cuvette having a reflecting mirror-like side facing the exciting incident laser beam. The silvered or aluminized reflecting side of the cuvette was tested. The pilot test of the proposed cuvette was performed using an excitation laser light of 405 nm wavelength and five mW average power on chlorophyll-a (Chl-a) samples of different concentrations. As a result, a pronounced improvement in the Chl-a fluorescence spectral band intensity is achieved. Such a novel approach, the reflection-enhanced laser-induced fluorescence (RELIF), has been used to analyze six Egyptian brands of extra virgin olive oil (EVOO). Compared to the LIF measurement results on the same EVOO, the RELIF was superior in terms of the fluorescence-spectrum intensity enhancement factor. Both Ag and Al coatings of the cuvette revealed similar results. Statistical analysis of the measured fluorescence spectra via the partial least square regression (PLSR) method for LIF and RELIF revealed a higher coefficient of determination R² for both RELIF measurements (with silver and aluminum coating) than for LIF. The proposed novel RELIF approach can be utilized for other fluorophore liquids at higher analytical sensitivity than conventional LIF. On the other hand, the RELIF technique is straightforward, cost-effective, and does not complicate the traditional LIF setup.