High-performance liquid chromatography interfaced with fluorescence line-narrowing spectroscopy for on-line analysis

We have demonstrated, for the first time, that highperformance liquid chrom atography (HPLC) can be interfaced with fluorescence line-narrowing spectro scopy (FLNS) for on-line identification and characterization of analytes. i nterfacing centered primarily on the design and construction of a novel liq uid helium cryostat that accommodates variable-sized quartz tubes/capillari es suitable for HPLC as well as capillary electrophoresis/electrochromatogr aphy. In addition to the high spectral resolution afforded by FLNS, analyin g the separated components at 4.2 K minimizes photodegradation from the exc itation source and provides indefinite detection times for signal averaging . The proof-of-principle for the HPLC-FLNS system is first demonstrated wit h a mixture of four structurally similar polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons a nd then applied to the analysis of DNA adducts from mouse skin exposed to t he carcinogen dibenzo[a,l]pyrene, With femtomole detection limits, HPLC-FLN S can be used for real-world analyses of complex mixtures.