Method and means for vaporizing liquids by means of heating a sample capillary tube for detection or analysis

Abstract

This disclosure is concerned with method and apparatus for vaporizing liquid solutions in order to detect, quantitate, and/or determine physical or chemical properties of samples present in liquid solution. Mixtures may be separated by an on-line liquid chromatographic column and the methods used for detection, quantitation, identification, and/or determination of chemical and physical properties include mass spectrometry, photoionization, flame ionization, electron capture, optical photometry, including UV, visible, and IR regions of the spectrum, light scattering, light emission, atomic absorption, and any other technique suitable for detecting or analyzing molecules or particles in a gaseous or vacuum environment. The method and apparatus involves controlled partial vaporization of the solution. Methods are disclosed for controlling the degree of partial vaporization and the temperature at which this vaporization occurs, and for maintaining this degree of vaporization essentially constant even though the solvent flow rate and/or composition may vary in either a controlled or an uncontrolled fashion. This GOVERNMENT SUPPORT The invention described herein was made in the course of work under a grant or award from the Department of Health and Human Services (formerly Health Education and Welfare). CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.