The application of semiconductor based UV sources for the detection and classification of biological material

Fluorescence analysis of dry samples of biological origin like pollens, fungi, flours and proteins was presented. In the laboratory study presentenced here two fluorescence methods using semiconductor light sources were applied. Firstly, laser induced fluorescence emission (LIF) spectra of the samples were recorded under 266 and 375 nm excitation. The second technique covered fluorescence decay (FD) at 280 and 340 nm excitation. Hierarchical Cluster Analysis (HCA) of acquired spectra and decays was performed. Both LIF and FD showed that single wavelength excitation 266 and 280 nm, respectively allow distinguishing of pollens from other samples. Combining data of both excitation wavelengths, for LIF and FD, respectively, resulted in substantial improvement of data classification for groups according to the samples origin.