Optical sensor for measuring American Lobster vitality

Journal Article · Fri Jun 10 00:00:00 EDT 2011 · AIP Conference Proceedings

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/1.3587466· OSTI ID:21519889

Tomassetti, Brian R. A.; Vetelino, John F ^[1]

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1. LASST, University of Maine, Orono, ME (United States)

The vitality of the American Lobster (Homarus americanus) is correlated to the total hemolymph protein (THP) in lobster hemolymph (blood). The standard technique for determining lobster vitality is to draw blood from a lobster and measure THP with a refractometer. This technique is invasive and endangers the lobster's health since blood must be drawn from the lobster. In the present work an optical sensor is developed to measure a lobster's vitality in vivo. It is comprised of a broadband light source, a monochromator, a fiber optic reflection probe, a spectrometer and a computer. This sensor measures protein concentrations by exciting a lobster with 280 nm and 334 nm wavelength light sources and measuring the corresponding absorbance peaks for THP and the fluorescence peak for hemocyanin (Hc), the majority protein in hemolymph. In this work several lobsters are tested. For each lobster, absorbance and fluorescence peaks are measured using the sensor and compared to protein concentrations measured using a refractometer. It is found that the shell thickness and muscle density, which correspond directly to protein concentration and the molting stage of the lobster have a significant effect on the absorbance and fluorescence measurements. It is also found that within specific molting stages, such as pre-molt and post-molt, protein concentration measured with a refractometer correlates linearly to absorbance and fluorescence measurements with the optical sensor.

• OSTI ID: 21519889
• Journal Information: AIP Conference Proceedings, Vol. 1326, Issue 1; Conference: 5. BioNanoTox and applications international research conference, Little Rock, AK (United States), 4-5 Nov 2010; Other Information: DOI: 10.1063/1.3587466; (c) 2011 American Institute of Physics; ISSN 0094-243X
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES
BLOOD
DENSITY
FIBERS
FLUORESCENCE
HEMOCYANIN
IN VIVO
LIGHT SOURCES
LOBSTERS
MONOCHROMATORS
MUSCLES
REFLECTION
SENSORS
THICKNESS
ANIMALS
AQUATIC ORGANISMS
ARTHROPODS
BIOLOGICAL MATERIALS
BODY FLUIDS
CRUSTACEANS
DECAPODS
DIMENSIONS
EMISSION
INVERTEBRATES
LUMINESCENCE
MATERIALS
METALLOPROTEINS
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
PHOTON EMISSION
PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
PROTEINS
RADIATION SOURCES