The free-falling drop detector--a nover fluorescence detector for high-performance liquid chromatography.

A novel fluorescence detector for high-performance liquid chromatography has been designed to minimize the instrumental limitations of conventional flow-through, fluorometers. This unit contributes less than 5 mul to the "dead volume" of the chromatographic system. Sensitivity comparable to that of existing flow-through fluorometers has been attained without optimizing instrumental parameters. Performance of the unit has been evaluated with reference samples containing saccharides typical of glycosphingolipids. Future improvements are discussed.