“…Optical methods, however, offer a convenient route to achieving these goals and of the available techniques, fluorescence spectroscopy offers high sensitivity, good diagnostic potential, relatively simple instrumentation, and suitability for either microscopy or portable instrumentation. 1,2 The fluorescence of crude petroleum oils derives from the aromatic hydrocarbon fraction, and this fluorescence emission is strongly influenced by the chemical composition (e.g., fluorophore and quencher concentrations) and physical characteristics (e.g., viscosity and optical density) of the oil. Unfortunately, crude petroleum oils are inherently complex mixtures of different compounds, in widely varying compo-sitions, which are obtained from an extensive range of different geological sources.…”