title: Ultrasensitive detection of waste products in water using fluorescence emission cavity-enhanced spectroscopy.
abstract: Clean water is paramount to human health. In this article, we present a technique for detection of trace amounts of human or animal waste products in water using fluorescence emission cavity-enhanced spectroscopy. The detection of femtomolar concentrations of urobilin, a metabolic byproduct of heme metabolism that is excreted in both human and animal waste in water, was achieved through the use of an integrating cavity. This technique could allow for real-time assessment of water quality without the need for expensive laboratory equipment.
authors.affiliation: Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843;
authors.forename: Joel N
authors.initials: JN
authors.lastname: Bixler
authors.affiliation: Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843;
authors.forename: Michael T
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: Cone
authors.affiliation: Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843;
authors.forename: Brett H
authors.initials: BH
authors.lastname: Hokr
authors.affiliation: Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843;
authors.forename: John D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Mason
authors.affiliation: Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843;
authors.forename: Eleonora
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Figueroa
authors.affiliation: Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843;
authors.forename: Edward S
authors.initials: ES
authors.lastname: Fry
authors.affiliation: Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843;
authors.forename: Vladislav V
authors.initials: VV
authors.lastname: Yakovlev
authors.affiliation: Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843;Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08540; andBaylor University, Waco, TX 76706 scully@tamu.edu.
authors.forename: Marlan O
authors.initials: MO
authors.lastname: Scully
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001654:Bile Pigments / Q000737:chemistry; D001663:Bilirubin / Q000737:chemistry; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods; D004867:Equipment Design; D005243:Feces / Q000737:chemistry; D006418:Heme / Q000737:chemistry; D006801:Humans; D055095:Optics and Photonics; D013050:Spectrometry, Fluorescence / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*; D014556:Urine / Q000737:chemistry; D014557:Urobilin / Q000737:chemistry; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000032:analysis*; D014876:Water Pollution; D018508:Water Purification / Q000379:methods*; D060753:Water Quality
chemical_list: D001654:Bile Pigments; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical; C002298:stercobilin; D014557:Urobilin; D006418:Heme; D001663:Bilirubin
keywords: femtomolar detection; fluorescence spectroscopy; water contamination