Fluorometer

Modern fluorometers are capable of detecting fluorescent molecule concentrations as low as 1 part per trillion.

Light from the fluorescence of the sample and the lower, attenuated beam are detected by separate transducers and converted to an electrical signal that is interpreted by a computer system.

Care must be taken to not leave fingerprints or any other sort of mark on the outside of the cuvette, because this can produce unwanted fluorescence.

"Spectro grade" solvents such as methanol are sometimes used to clean the vessel surfaces to minimize these problems.

[6] For example, thioflavin T is used in the RT-QuIC technique to detect transmissible spongiform encephalopathy-causing misfolded prions.

The voltage signal of the sensor gets converted to a concentration with a calibration curve in the lab, using either red-colored dyes like Rhodamine, standards like Fluorescein, or live phytoplankton cultures.

[8] Ocean chlorophyll fluorescence is measured on research vessels, small boats, buoys, docks, and piers all over the world.

Fluorometry measurements are used to map chlorophyll concentrations in support of ocean color remote sensing.

[9] Aquaculture operations such as fish farms us fluorometers to measure food availability for filter feeding animals like mussels[10] and to detect the onset of Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs) and/or "red tides" (not necessarily the same thing).

Filter fluorometers are often purchased or built at a lower cost but are less sensitive and have less resolution than spectrofluorometers.