THE APPLICATION OF A SIMPLE DECONVOLUTION METHOD TO THE ANALYSIS OF STRETCHED EXPONENTIAL FLUORESCENCE DECAY FUNCTIONS

A simple method, based on the "exponential series expansion" method of deconvolution, is applied to decay profiles which may follow the stretched exponential function of the form: I(t) = A exp(-at-btα). The method is tested using both computer simulated and experimentally observed fluorescence decay curves. It is shown that a decay curve which follows the stretched function can often be fitted satisfactorily by a function consisting of a small number (approximately three) of exponentials. The decay parameters of these exponentials (pre-exponential factors and decay times) can then be used to extract the parameters a and b of the stretched exponential function without the complexities associated with the tα deconvolution procedures. The method can also be applied to re-analyse published fluorescence decay data in terms of the stretched exponential function. © 1990.