Applications and new developments in fluorescence spectroscopic techniques for the analysis of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons

Carcinogenic, mutagenic and the toxic nature of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) make them of current interest for environmental monitoring. Recent progress in the use of a fiber optic wave-guide for remote sensing and inexpensive laser sources to enhance sensitivity has made fluorescence techniques rich for PAHs classification and estimation. This is further boosted by multiparametric information e.g., spectral change, intensity, lifetime, polarization etc. of fluorescence and traditional simplicity and speed of the instrument. This versatility, and advances in fluorescence techniques has shown the way for analyzing multicomponent complex PAHs mixture without separation procedures. Current developments on new aspects of these techniques in PAHs analysis are discussed in this review.