Development of a Multipurpose Optical System for Use with a Centrifugal Fast Analyzer

Abstract

A Centrifugal Fast Analyzer is basically a sophisticated photometric measuring device containing a multicuvet rotor as its major component. Several reactions are simultaneously initiated in the rotor, which is then rotated through a stationary optical monitor and the resulting signals acquired and processed by an on-line data system. ?With the miniature version of this analyzer, one has the option of directing the incident optical beam, via a fiber optical bundle, into the cuvets of the spinning rotor in either a 90 degrees or a 180 degrees orientation relative to the analyzer's photodetector. tthe combination of newly designed rotors and a flexible optical system having multiple configurations has provided a versatile system in which one can measure the transmittance, fluorescence, chemiluminescence, or light-scattering (either turbidimetrically or nephelometrically) properties of the ensuing reaction species, all with a single analyzer. This flexibility in choosing the optical mode in which a particular set of reactions is to be monitored provides the analyst with a powerful and versatile analytical tool for developing new methods for use in various clinical laboratory applications, including chemistry, toxicology, immunology, and hematology.