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US 4,399,099 AGranted
Optical fiber apparatus for quantitative analysis
OwnerRichard G. Bucklesinventor
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OwnerRichard G. Bucklesinventor
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This invention relates to a method and to apparatus for chemical and biochemical analyses which employ an energy-transmissive core and may employ one or more sheaths which selectively absorb, react with, and/or filter an analyte or a product of an analyte. The core is transmissive to a chosen energy carrier and it has an inlet end and an outlet end. Between these ends it has an extended length. The passage of energy through the core is modified by reason of events which occur in one or more of the sheaths or in the case where no sheath is employed, by reason of events which occur in an ambient fluid. The resulting modification of the transmitted energy is a measure of such events which in turn are a measure of the analyte. The energy may be any of several types of energy which can be transmitted through the core from end to end and which is susceptible to modification by reactions in the sheath or sheaths or ambient fluid. The energy may be electromagnetic, electrical or sonic. In the method aspect of the invention a permeable core may be used which is bare, i.e. without a sheath, and exposed directly to an environment, e.g. the air or an industrial fluid.
An optical fiber device for the quantitative analysis of oxygen in a fluid, said device comprising a fibersheath element including a fiber capable of transmitting electromagnetic energy in the visible and ultraviolet ranges and defining a path for the transmission of said energy, a first oxygen-permeable sheath surrounding said fiber, an oxygen-quenchable, fluorescent dye incorporated into the material forming said fiber or said sheath and means for reflecting said electromagnetic radiation from said sheath into said fiber, whereby the modification of the fluorescence caused by the quenching thereof by oxygen is cumulative along the length of said path.
An optical fiber-sheath element for the quantitative analysis of an analyte in a fluid containing said analyte species and a second species which reacts with said analyte species in the presence of a catalyst, said element comprising:
An optical device for the quantitative analysis of an analyte in a fluid containing said analyte species and a second species which reacts with said analyte species in the presence of a catalyst, said device including a first fiber-sheath element comprising:
An optical fiber device for the quantitative analysis of an antigen A1 contained in a liquid, said device including a fiber-sheath element comprising a fiber element capable of transmitting electromagnetic energy and defining a path for the transmission of said energy, a first sheath surrounding said fiber element and containing a first complex A2 of an antigen and an energy-modifying compound, a second sheath surrounding said first sheath, said second sheath reflecting said electromagnetic radiation and being selectively permeable to said first complex when wet, and a third sheath, surrounding said second sheath, and an antibody Ab to A1 and A2 incorporated into the material forming said third sheath, whereby the modification to transmitted radiation resulting from the presence of said energy-modifying compound is cumulative along the length of said path.
An optical fiber device for the quantitative analysis of an antigen A contained in a liquid, said device comprising a fiber-sheath element including a fiber which transmits electromagnetic radiation, said fiber having an index of refraction n.sub.c and being permeable to the product Y of a reaction:
An optical fiber device for the quantitative analysis of an antigen contained in a liquid, said device comprising a fiber which transmits electromagnetic radiation, which is formed of a material containing an antibody Ab for the antigen bonded to a compound Y in the form of a complex Ab-Y and, said compound Y having an energy-modifying characteristic which changes upon immuno-bonding of the antigen to the antibody Ab, and a sheath, permeable to the antigen, surrounding said fiber, whereby the modification of transmitted radiation resulting from the presence of said energy-modifying compound Y is cumulative along the length of said fiber.
A device for the quantitative analysis of an enzyme in a liquid sample, said device comprising a fiber-sheath element including a fiber which transmits electromagnetic radiation, a sheath surrounding said fiber and formed of a hydrophilic polymer and an energy-modifying compound Y incorporated into and chemically bound to said polymer, said chemical bond being selectively degradable by the enzyme to be detected, said fiber being permeable to Y, whereby the modification of transmitted radiation resulting from the presence of energy-modifying compound Y is cumulative along the length of said fiber.
An optical fiber device for the quantitative analysis of an analyte contained in a fluid, said device comprising a plurality of fiber-sheath elements, each of said elements including (1) an electromagnetic energy transmissive fiber defining a path for transmission of electromagnetic energy, at least a portion of said fiber being formed of a material having an electromagnetic energy transmitting characteristic capable of modification by the presence of an analyte contained in the fluid;
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.