Analytical Sciences

Alternative to High Pressure Mercury Vapor Lamp for Photo Induced Fluorescence Analytical Methods; Application to the Determination of Pesticides in Water

Ndeye A. DIOP,*1 Jean-Pierre BAKHOUM,*2 Pape A. DIAW,*1 Olivier M. A. MBAYE,*3 Lamine CISSE,*3 Mame D. GAYE-SEYE,*4 Gaël LE ROUX,*2 Bernard LE JEUNE,*2 and Philippe GIAMARCHI*2

*1 Lab. Matériaux, Electrochimie et Photochimie Analytique, Univ. A. Diop, Bambey, Sénégal
*2 OPTIMAG Lab., Brest Univ., 6 Av. Victor Le Gorgeu, 29285 Brest Cedex, France
*3 Lab. Photochimie et d’Analyse, Univ. C. A. Diop, Dakar, Sénégal
*4 Lab. Géomatériaux et Environnement, Univ. Paris-Est, 77454 Marne-la-Vallée, France

The photo-induced fluorescence method is often applied to determine non-native fluorescent compounds. It typically uses UV irradiation from a high pressure mercury vapor discharge lamp to create photo-induced fluorescent compounds, which are then quantified by fluorescence spectroscopy. However, these mercury lamps require a high-voltage power supply and may accidentally induce electric shocks and the release of mercury vapors. As an alternative, we have evaluated in this technical note new UV-C germicidal lamps. These lamps exhibit a higher power at 254 nm and allowed us to obtain a far greater amount of photo-induced compounds in a shorter time. For the first time, this new irradiation system has been applied for the determination of pesticides in water and has shown a significant increase in the method sensitivity. These good results allowed us to conclude that the new UV-C lamps are a relevant alternative to high pressure mercury vapor discharge lamps for use with photo induced fluorescent methods.

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