Member for the formation of at least one electrode and/or one sensor
AssigneeAVL Medical Instruments AG
InventorsRudolf A. Hatschek, Erich W. F. Heitz
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A member has a solid carrier and a thin oxide layer which is arranged thereon and consists of iridium oxide and/or possibly at least one oxide of at least one other metal belonging to the fifth or sixth period and to one of the subgroups 5b, 6b, 7b and 8 of the Periodic Table of chemical elements and/or zirconium oxide. The oxide layer is monocrystalline and therefore very stable. The member can serve, for example, for the formation of at least one electrode which serves as a proton donor and/or proton acceptor and/or for the measurement and/or change of the pH value and/or for a coulometric measurement or for holding biologically active molecules and at the same time as an electrode and/or optical sensor.
Claims20
A member for use during chemical analysis of a substance to which the member is exposed, comprising:
- a carrier;
- and a metal oxide layer which is arranged on the carrier and which has a plurality of progressively increasing oxidation states as viewed across a thickness of said oxide layer, and a free surface region defining a highest oxidation state, the metal in the layer being selected from the group consisting of metals belonging to one of the fifth and sixth periods and to one of the subgroups 5b, 6b, 7b, and 8 of the Periodic Table of chemical elements and zirconium, wherein at least that part of the oxide layer which forms the free surface region of said layer is monocrystalline.
A member for the formation of at least one electrode having a carrier and an oxide layer which is arranged thereon, said oxide layer having a plurality of progressively increasing oxidation states as viewed across a thickness of said oxide layer, and a free surface region defining a highest oxidation state, said oxide layer consisting of a metal oxide of a metal belonging to a group consisting of Ir, Pd, Ru, Ta and Nb, wherein at least that part of said oxide layer which forms said free surface region is monocrystalline.
A member for the formation of at least one electrode, serving for at least one of measuring a pH value of a liquid, of measuring an ion concentration of a liquid, of measuring a buffer capacity of a liquid, of detecting electrical nerve signals and of stimulating electrical nerve signals, having a carrier and an oxide layer which is arranged thereon, said oxide layer having a plurality of progressively increasing oxidation states as viewed across a thickness of said oxide layer, and a free surface region defining a highest oxidation state, said oxide layer consisting of a metal oxide of a metal belonging to a group consisting of Ir, Pd, Ru, Ta and Nb, wherein at least that part of said oxide layer which forms said free surface region is monocrystalline.
A member having a carrier and an oxide layer which is arranged thereon, said oxide layer having a plurality of progressively increasing oxidation states as viewed across a thickness of said oxide layer, and a free surface region defining a highest oxidation state, for holding biologically active molecules of at least one of a protein and peptide, said oxide layer consisting of a metal oxide of a metal belonging to a group consisting of Ir, Pd, Ru, Ta and Nb, wherein at least that part of said oxide layer which forms said free surface region is monocrystalline.
A means for the coulometric investigation of a liquid, having a member which has a carrier and an oxide layer which is arranged thereon, said oxide layer having a plurality of progressively increasing oxidation states as viewed across a thickness of said oxide layer, said oxide layer further having a free surface region defining a highest oxidation state, said oxide layer consisting of a metal oxide of a metal belonging to a group consisting of Ir, Pd, Ru, Ta and Nb, wherein at least that part of said oxide layer which forms said free surface region is monocrystalline, wherein four electrodes are arranged on said carrier which can be brought into contact with said liquid, one of said electrodes serving as a pH measurement electrode, one as a control electrode for controlling the pH value of said liquid by exchanging protons with said liquid, one as a reference electrode for said pH measurement, one as a counter-electrode to said control electrode, said control electrode being composed of the monocrystalline oxide layer, and wherein an electronic measuring apparatus electrically connected to said four electrodes is present and is designed to determine the pH value of said liquid on the basis of an electric potential difference between said pH measurement electrode and said reference electrode and to generate an electric current flowing between said control electrode and said counter-electrode through said liquid and to regulate said current so that the measured pH value is equal to a setpoint value.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.