Luminescence measurements on surfaces

The paper describes the applications of solid surface luminescence measurements in the fields of cryogenic and room temperature phosphorescence, fluorescence immunoassays, and other areas. In many examples highly specific and sensitive assays are obtained by combining luminescence measurements with thin layer chromatography, and other laminar methods such as electrophoresis. Thin layer phosphorimetry is a promising approach, and may encourage the development of phosphorescent labels analogous to the currently common fluorescent labels. Several useful qualitative applications of surface luminescence have also been described, including the identification of glass samples, and the inclusion of phosphorescent and fluorescent markers on postage stamps and related materials.