A Bench-Top, Automated, High-Resolution Analyzer for Ultraviolet Absorbing Constituents of Body Fluids

Abstract

Abstract An automated, high-resolution chromatograph capable of separating as many as 150 ultraviolet-absorbing molecular constituents of body fluids has been previously developed. A smaller, improved version of this analyzer, which uses only one-eighth of the previously required quantity of ion-exchange resin, sample, and eluant, is described. Analysis time has been decreased from 40 to 20 h. A prototype system of this analyzer, which will fit on an ordinary laboratory bench top, has been built and is now being tested. The small prototype analyzer uses a folded, 0.22-cm ion-exchange column for separation and a recently developed dual-beam, dual-wavelength, uv-flow photometer for detection. A unique device has been developed to generate the buffer concentration gradient used in eluting the ion-exchange column. Analyses of body fluids with this prototype are comparable to those achieved with the larger analyzers.