EFFECTS OF CETYLPYRIDINIUM BROMIDE MICELLES ON THE SPECTROFLUOROMETRIC CHARACTERISTICS OF POLYCYCLIC AROMATIC-HYDROCARBONS

The presence of a micellar medium of cetylpyridinium bromide (CPB) cau ses, in relation to the aqueous medium, important bathochromic shifts in the excitation spectra of a considerable number of polycyclic aroma tic hydrocarbons (PAHs). Furthermore, the CPB acts as a quencher, prov oking inhibitions of the fluorescence intensity emitted by PAHs. The m icellar inhibition factors show that, generally, the quenching affects alternant hydrocarbons to a greater extent. Some interesting relation ships between the hydrocarbon structure and both the characteristic wa velengths of fluorescence spectra and the values of Delta lambda are e stablished.