Method and apparatus for determination of analyte concentration
First Claim
1. A restrictor for flow of supercritical solvent comprising:
- a housing having a central chamber and a first port, second port and third port connected to the central chamber;
a high pressure tube connected to the first port which delivers supercritical solvent to the chamber through the first port;
an actuator mechanism connected to the second port;
a needle connected to the actuator mechanism, said needle extending from the actuator mechanism through the chamber and through the third port, said actuator mechanism moving the needle to maintain a desired flow of supercritical solvent out the third port and compensating for flow rate error due to temperature effects, said needle having a needle end; and
an outlet tube which is connected to the third port and extends from the third port, said outlet tube surrounding the needle, said outlet tube having an opening which conforms with the needle and to control the flow of solvent out the third port and the change in pressure of the solvent, said needle end and outlet tube opening remote from the housing.
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Abstract
The present invention pertains to an apparatus for gathering analyte. The apparatus comprises a pumping mechanism for pumping solvent at supercritical pressure. The apparatus also comprises an extraction mechanism which receives a first sample and at least a second sample separate and distinct from the first sample and extract analyte from them essentially simultaneously. The extraction mechanism is connected to the pump mechanism to receive solvent at supercritical pressure for extracting the analyte from the samples. The apparatus additionally comprises a collection mechanism for collecting analyte from the solvent after the analyte has been extracted from the samples. The collection mechanism receives the supercritical solvent having the analyte extracted from the samples from the extraction mechanism. The present invention pertains to a method for extracting analyte. The method comprises the steps of pumping solvent at a supercritical pressure. Then there is the step of extracting analyte from N samples essentially simultaneously with the solvent at a supercritical pressure, where N is greater than or equal to two and is an integer. The N samples are separate and distinct from each other. Then there is the step of collecting the analyte of the N samples from the solvent.
305 Citations
22 Claims
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1. A restrictor for flow of supercritical solvent comprising:
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a housing having a central chamber and a first port, second port and third port connected to the central chamber; a high pressure tube connected to the first port which delivers supercritical solvent to the chamber through the first port; an actuator mechanism connected to the second port; a needle connected to the actuator mechanism, said needle extending from the actuator mechanism through the chamber and through the third port, said actuator mechanism moving the needle to maintain a desired flow of supercritical solvent out the third port and compensating for flow rate error due to temperature effects, said needle having a needle end; and an outlet tube which is connected to the third port and extends from the third port, said outlet tube surrounding the needle, said outlet tube having an opening which conforms with the needle and to control the flow of solvent out the third port and the change in pressure of the solvent, said needle end and outlet tube opening remote from the housing. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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21. A restrictor for flow of supercritical solvent comprising:
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a housing having a central chamber and a first port, second port and third port connected to the central chamber; a high pressure tube connected to the first port which delivers supercritical solvent to the chamber through the first port; an actuator mechanism connected to the second port, said actuator mechanism includes an actuator and a control mechanism; a needle connected to the actuator mechanism, said needle extending from the actuator mechanism through the chamber and through the third port, said actuator mechanism moving the needle to maintain a desired flow of supercritical solvent out the third port, said needle having a needle end; and an outlet tube which is connected to the third port and extends from the third port, said outlet tube surrounding the needle, said outlet tube having an opening which conforms with the needle and to control the flow of solvent out the third port and the change in pressure of the solvent, said needle end and outlet tube opening remote from the housing, said control mechanism for controlling the movement of the actuator to move the needle end relative to the outlet opening, the control mechanism includes a motor mechanism to move the actuator to move the needle and a computer mechanism for instructing the motor mechanism how to move the actuator to move the needle, said motor mechanism includes a stepper motor connected to the actuator to move the actuator, and a stepper motor driver connected to the stepper motor and to the control mechanism to drive the stepper motor, said control mechanism includes a computer to determine how to move the actuator, and a central microprocessor connected to the stepper motor driver for controlling the driver'"'"'s operation.
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22. A restrictor for flow of supercritical solvent comprising:
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a housing having a central chamber and a first port, second port and third port connected to the central chamber; a high pressure tube connected to the first port which delivers supercritical solvent to the chamber through the first port; an actuator mechanism connected to the second port; a needle connected to the actuator mechanism, said needle extending from the actuator mechanism through the chamber and through the third port, said actuator mechanism moving the needle to maintain a desired flow of supercritical solvent out the third port, said needle having a needle end and a needle axis, said needle end flared radially outward from the needle axis; and an outlet tube which is connected to the third port and extends from the third port, said outlet tube surrounding the needle, said outlet tube having an opening which conforms with the needle and to control the flow of solvent out the third port and the change in pressure of the solvent, said needle end and outlet tube opening remote from the housing, said outlet tube opening has a shape which conforms with the flared end of the needle end.
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Specification