Fluorescence and elastic scattering from laser dye-filled capillaries

Abstract

We investigated the elastic scattering and fluorescence from laser dye solutions inside 5000, 1100, and 96.5 micron inner-diameter hollow-core capillaries. Incident 4416 A laser illumination of Coumarin 7 dye dissolved in ethanol caused fluorescence from approximately 4600 to 6000 A. This was studied over an angular range from 0° to 360°. A light scattering nephelometer coupled with a spectrometer gave intensity measurements as functions of wavelength (at fixed detection angles) and angle (at fixed wavelengths), while the illumination source, dye-filled capillary, and detector remained stationary. We saw capillary size and detection-angle dependence of the fluorescence and elastic scattering. Results show that angular variations of the elastic scattering and emitted fluorescence can be used to determine an optimum detection angle from the capillary with respect to the incident illumination direction. This work is important in the design and execution of Capillary Zone Electrophoresis (CZE) experiments.