SmartFluo: A Method and Affordable Adapter to Measure Chlorophyll a Fluorescence with Smartphones

In order to increase the monitoring capabilities of inland and coastal waters, there is a need for new, affordable, sensitive and mobile instruments that could be operated semi-automatically in the field. This paper presents a prototype device to measure chlorophyll a fluorescence: the SmartFluo. The device is a combination of a smartphone offering an intuitive operation interface and an adapter implying a cuvette holder, as well as a suitable illumination source. SmartFluo is based on stimulated fluorescence of water constituents such as chlorophyll a. The red band of the digital smartphone camera is sensitive enough to detect quantitatively the characteristic red fluorescence emission. The adapter contains a light source, a strong light emitting diode and additional filters to enhance the signal-to-noise ratio and to suppress the impact of scattering. A novel algorithm utilizing the red band of the camera is provided. Laboratory experiments of the SmartFluo show a linear correlation (R2 = 0.98) to the chlorophyll a concentrations measured by reference instruments, such as a high-performance benchtop laboratory fluorometer (LS 55, PerkinElmer).

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