Rj. Vandenesse et al., LASER-INDUCED FLUORESCENCE DETECTION OF NATIVE-FLUORESCENT ANALYTES IN COLUMN LIQUID-CHROMATOGRAPHY, A CRITICAL-EVALUATION, Journal of chromatography, 704(1), 1995, pp. 1-25
This paper critically evaluates aspects that need to be considered whe
n applying lasers instead of conventional lamps in fluorescence detect
ion combined with column liquid chromatography (LC). To exclude the of
ten underestimated role of chemical derivatization reactions as far as
detection limits are concerned, emphasis is on analytes showing nativ
e fluorescence. First of all basic features of both continuous wave an
d pulsed lasers are considered, including a quantitative treatment of
saturation and photodecomposition effects. Subsequently a detailed tre
atment on signal-to-noise in laser induced fluorescence (LIF) is prese
nted, the various definitions of detection limits operative in the lit
erature are compared and flow cell constructions are considered. The p
aper ends with a comparison between conventional fluorescence and LIF
detection in LC, an overview of published data on detection limits and
a discussion on future trends.