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Deployment of Chlorophyll Fluorometer in Phytoremediation Experiments

The chlorophyll fluorometer (CFM-636973) is a portable instrument produced and tested by Technical University of Budapest (Hungary) in the framework of an ongoing U.S. DOE-funded cooperative research initiative between FSU and universities and institutions from Central and Eastern Europe. The chlorophyll fluorometer uses changes in chlorophyll fluorescence to determine the general health status of a plant. This equipment can be used in the lab as well as in the field to measure chlorophyll fluorescence kinetics. Chlorophyll fluorescence is a part of the light energy absorbed by plants which is not used for photosynthesis, being re-emitted through a radiant de-excitation process. At lower photosynthetic activities, the re-emitted portion of energy, including fluorescence, increases. Consequently, measuring chlorophyll fluorescence is a widely accepted in vivo method for investigations of plant health.
Dr. Petrisor analyzing data	fluorometer in use
The fluorometer is now in CBTR for deployment in phytoremediation applications. Dr. Ioana Gloria Petrisor, currently post-doctoral Research Associate at CBTR, is conducting research, aiming to optimize phytoremediation processes by using the chlorophyll fluorescence parameter. For plants grown on polluted media, periodic chlorophyll fluorescence measurements can be used in monitoring and evaluating the changes in plant photosynthetic activity and health due to their interaction with pollutants. Moreover, after proper calibration, the volume of some heavy metal uptake in plants has been shown to correlate well with the fluorescence.