Spectral discrimination of planktonic cyanobacteria and microalgae based on deep UV fluorescence

•Deep UV fluorescence is used to discriminate cyanobacteria and microalgae.•Tryptophan and other pigments of planktonic species autofluoresce at 270 nm.•Relative fluorescence peak amplitude are exploited for discrimination.•The proposed method offers easy and direct interpretation of the results. The deep ultraviolet fluorescence characteristics of several cyanobacteria and microalgae are analyzed and exploited for their discrimination in liquid samples. The proposed approach is based on relative fluorescence peak amplitude of natural pigments in cyanobacteria or other planktonic species commonly present in water bodies. The experimental results demonstrate a clear discrimination between the various species of cyanobacteria and other planktonic species. This approach can be simply implemented in fluorescence measurement systems for real-time detection of cyanobacteria, provided that they are able to operate in deep ultraviolet.