Advanced research equipment for fast ultraweak luminescence analysis

This article describes new advanced research equipment for fast ultraweak luminescence analysis, which, can detect at high sensitivity photons after ultraviolet A laser irradiation in biological probes as well as plant, animal, and human cells. The design and construction of this equipment, developed at the Southern National Laboratory of the National Nuclear Physics Institute, is described with the first experimental results and future developments. The setup, employing a photomultiplier tube working in single photon counting mode, allows accurate and reliable photoluminescence measurements with excitation wavelengths in the range 337-700 nm and the emission wavelength in the range 400-800 nm. With respect to the traditional setup, this new equipment is able to perform measurements starting at a few microseconds after the laser irradiation is switched off and with a large detection efficiency (about 10% of the total solid angle). Moreover, the adopted design assures a low background noise level. A further optimization of the system is under study, with special care for the reliability needed for the delayed luminescence for optical screening project aimed to enhance the detection of the low level photoinduced luminescence from human cells to be used as an optical biopsy technique. (C) 2003 American Institute of Physics.