UV LED Fiber Optic Detection System for DNA and Protein

摘要

Concentrations of DNA and proteins are traditionally detected at 260/280nm using laboratory spectrophotometers. Recently, AlGaN/GaN ultraviolet Light Emitting Diodes (LED) became available in the 250 nm to 350 nm wavelength region. An inexpensive fiber optic detection system based on these UV LEDs and photodiodes has been developed. It allows concentration measurements of such popular biochemistry samples. Measurement stability and noise will be discussed. The performance of the system in comparison to a standard spectrophotometer will be evaluated. In particular, the effect of decreasing the spectral resolution from usually used 2-3 nm to 10-20 nm Full Width Half Maximum (FWHM) is simulated and experimentally confirmed.