Protoporphyrin fluorescence induced by methyl-ALA in skin healing.

Background: Estimation of the time period that precedes an injury is critical in forensic medicine. However, there is no reliable method that can be used to evaluate the oldness of a lesion. The aim of this work is to develop a fluorimetric method that can be used to follow the aging process of lesions by applying methyl-ALA (MAL) on wounds and by quantifying protoporphyrin IX (PPIX) fluorescence during the healing process.

Langmuir films of petroleum at the air-water interface.

Understanding the behavior of petroleum films at the air/water interface is crucial for dealing with oil slicks and reducing the damages to the environment, which has normally been attempted with studies of Langmuir films made of fractions of petroleum. However, the properties of films from whole petroleum samples may differ considerably from those of individual fractions. Using surface pressure and surface potential measurements and Brewster angle and fluorescence microscopy, we show that petroleum forms a nonhomogeneous Langmuir film at the air-water interface.