Luminescence methods for study and determination of pollutants in the environment

Abstract

The analytical performances and applications of various luminescence spectrometric methods to the study and determination of pollutants present at low levels in the environment are reviewed for the last two decades (1990 – 2010). The first part concerns luminescence stationary systems, including fluorescence, photochemically-induced fluorescence, phosphorescence and related luminescence methods. In the second part, the combination of these luminescence methods with flow techniques such as high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), capillary electrophoresis (CE) and flow injection analysis (FIA) for the detection and determination of environmental pollutants is investigated. A part of the review is also devoted to the usefulness of organized supramolecular systems, such as micellar media, cyclodextrins and calixarenes, for improving the efficiency of luminescence methods.