When light strikes matter, one of three outcomes will occur: It will be absorbed, reflected or transmitted. Ultraviolet or UV spectrophotometry is a type of absorption spectroscopy which is used to measure the absorbance of light across the ultraviolet ranges of the electromagnetic spectrum. UV spectrophotometers are relied upon in numerous disciplines including analytical chemistry, forensics, DNA and RNA-related work, pharmaceuticals, biology, environmental sciences and more.
Before choosing a spectrophotometer, however, purchasers should consider three aspects: range of the detection wavelength, working absorbance range, and measurement time. Other considerations include lab requirements and total costs.