Analysis system

• US 4,361,540 A
• Filed: 11/09/1981
• Issued: 11/30/1982
• Est. Priority Date: 05/05/1980
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Il Holding SpA (Werfen SA)
• Original Assignee: Instrumentation Lab Co (Instrumentation Lab)
• Inventors: Cormier, Alan D., Weinberg, Melvin S.
• Primary Examiner(s): Schor, Kenneth M.
• Application Number:
  US06/319,314
• Time in Patent Office: 386 Days
• Field of Search: 422/68, 422/80, 422/81, 422/98, 422/61, 422/70, 23/928, 204/195 B, 204/195 F, 204/195 P
• US Class Current: 422/82.02
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 33/4915 using flow cells flow cytometry G01N15/14

Abstract

An analysis system for measuring a plurality of parameters of a fluid sample comprises a housing, and a flow-through cell in the housing that has opposed surfaces with at least two ports in each surface. One of the ports is an inlet port, a second of the ports is an outlet port, and at least two of the ports are sensing ports. A sample flow path including a serpentine portion in the cell serially connects the ports and extends from a port in one surface to a port in the other surface and back to a port in the one surface, and a sensor is disposed in sealing engagement with each sensing port and forms a portion of the serpentine flow path so that sample fluid to be analyzed contacts a surface of each sensor.

Claims

1. An analysis system for measuring a parameter of a fluid sample comprising:

two metal heat sink members,

a flow-through cell disposed between said heat sink members, said flow through cell having parallel opposed surfaces and each of said heat sink members having a surface in rating heat exchange contact with a corresponding one of said opposed cell surfaces,

structure in said cell defining an inlet port, an outlet port, means defining a port capable of accepting a sensor, and means defining a flow path that serially connects said inlet port to said sensor accepting port and said sensor accepting port to said outlet port,

a bore in one of said heat sink members,

sample analysis electrode structure that has a sensor portion at one end thereof, said sample analysis electrode structure extending through said bore with said sensor portion disposed in sealing engagement in said sensor accepting port and forming a portion of the flow path so that sample material in said flow path contacts said sensor portion of said electrode structure,

heater structure in physical contact with each said heat sink member,

a temperature sensor in one of said heat sink members for sensing the temperature of said one heat sink member,

preheater flow-through structure disposed in one of said heat sink members and connected to said inlet port for heating sample material being flowed to said flow-through cell for analysis, and

flush solution flow-through structure physically supported in heat exchange relation with said heat sink members and connected to said outlet port path for stabilizing the temperature of flush solution to be flowed through said sample flow path.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein said flow-through cell includes means defining at least one sensor accepting port in each of said surfaces, each said cavity being capable of accepting one end of a sensor and said sample flow path defining means in said flow-through cell defines a serpentine portion that extends from said inlet port to a sensor accepting port in one surface, then to a sensor accepting port in the opposite surface and then to said outlet port.

3. The system of claim 2 wherein said serpentine portion defining means includes a plurality of straight passage segments, where each said passage segment extends through said cell from one said surface to the other said surface, with each passage segment extending from a port in said one surface to a port in said other surface, the passage segments at each port being disposed at an angle to one another.

4. The system of claim 3 wherein each said passage segment is of capillary dimension (less than one millimeter in diameter), said opposed cell surfaces are planar and spaced less than five centimeters apart.

5. The system of either claim 4 or 1 wherein the volume of said flow path between said inlet and outlet ports is less than two hundred microliters.

6. The system of either claim 2 or 4 wherein said serpentine flow path in said flow-through cell extends in a generally vertical direction and further including means to flow the sample to be analyzed upwardly through said serpentine flow path.

7. The system of claim 6 wherein said sample flow means includes pump means connected to said outlet port, and further including means to flow a flush solution downwardly through said serpentine flow path.

8. The system of claim 7 and further including a reference port in one of said cell surfaces in communication with said serpentine path, said serpentine path having a trap portion for preventing reference electrolyte from flowing from said reference port downwardly to a sensing port.

9. The system of either claim 2 or 4 wherein said flow-through cell includes an annular sealing surface surrounding each said sensor port and a surface of said serpentine flow path intersects said annular sealing surface.

10. The system of claim 9 wherein one of said electrode structures includes a protruding tip, and said flow-through cell includes a recess at one of said sensor accepting ports in fluid communication with said serpentine sample flow path for receiving said protruding tip so that the sample fluid to be analyzed contacts and flows around said protruding tip.

11. The system of either claim 1 or 4 wherein said flow-through cell is of transparent material so that fluid sample in said flow path may be visually observed, and further including housing structure with a transparent front wall portion that includes window structure for viewing said flow-through cell, and said transparent front wall portion includes chamber structure for storing conditioning liquid through which a sensor calibrating gas is bubbled.

12. The system of claim 2 and further including structure in said cell defining a reference port in one of said cell surfaces in communication with said serpentine portion of said flow path defining means, said serpentine portion having a trap portion for preventing reference electrolyte from flowing from said reference port to a sensor accepting port.

13. The system of either claim 1 or 12 wherein said flow-through cell is of transparent material so that fluid sample in said flow path may be visually observed.

14. The system of claim 13 wherein said system includes a light transmitting window in the front wall of the housing for transmitting light to said flow-through cell.

15. The system of either claim 2 and further including a series of sample detectors disposed at spaced points along the length of said serpentine path for detecting the presence of sample fluid at spaced points along said path.

16. The system of claim 15 wherein said plurality of sample detectors are components of a sample position sensing system of the electrical conductivity type.

17. The system of claim 2 and further including means defining first and second calibrating fluid inlets, and fluid control means in said serpentine portion in said cell, said fluid control means having a first mode in which said sensor accepting ports are connected in series with said inlet port so that fluid from the same sample may be flowed serially from said inlet port to said sensor accepting ports for concurrent sensing by said sensors, and a second mode in which a first sensor accepting port is in fluid communication with said first calibrating fluid inlet, a second sensor accepting port is in fluid communication with said second calibrating fluid inlet, and said sensor accepting ports are in fluid isolation from one another so that said sensors may be calibrated concurrently and independently of one another.

18. The system of claim 1 and further including means defining a second port capable of accepting a sensor, a second sample analysis electrode structure having a sensor portion in sealing engagement with said second sensor accepting port, said first electrode structure being connected to measure a gaseous parameter of the fluid sample at said first sensor accepting port, and said second electrode structure being connected to measure an ionic parameter of the fluid sample at said second sensor accepting port, said flow path defining means serially connecting said inlet port to said first sensor accepting port, said first sensor accepting port to said second sensor accepting port and said second sensor accepting port to said outlet port, and a fluid control connected in said flow path defining means between said first and second sensor accepting ports.