Auto analyzer

CK catalyzes the reversible phosphorylation of creatine in the presence of ATP and magnesium. When creatine phosphate is the substrate, the resulting creatine can be measured as the ninhydrin fluorescent compound, as in the continuous flow Auto Analyzer method. Kinetic methods based on coupled enzymatic reactions are also popular. Tanzer and Gilvarg (40) developed a kinetic method using the two exogenous enzymes pyruvate kinase and lactate dehydrogenase to measure the CK rate by following the oxidation of NADH. In this procedure the main reaction is run in a less favorable direction. 

An attempt to automate the turbidi-metric method for the determination of neomycin with K. pne.umon4.ae. has been reported by Gerke et al281 who obtained satisfactory assays with solutions containing 150-1200 yg/ml of neomycin. An automated respirometric method, which measured the amount of CO2 produced by interaction of antibiotic and the bacteria E.cot.i was also reported with a similar sensitivity. In both methods Auto Analyzer systems were employed. 

The extent of urea (BUN) present in biological fluids is normally determined in many Auto Analyzers by the following method ... 

This particular section of the Auto Analyzer consists mainly of the sampler, proportioning pumps, and programmer. First, the sampler introduces a fixed quantity of serum sample into the analysis train , which varies from one instrument to another instrument supplied by different manufacturers. For instance, the SMA-12 Survey Auto Analyzer possesses 12 analysis trains or streams as illustrated in Figure 2.7. 

Figure 2.7 Sample Streams of SMA-12 Survey Auto Analyzer.

Routine analyses of large numbers of similar samples can readily be automated and the sample throughput considerably increased (sometimes up to about 200 samples per hour) by carrying out the analyses in a continuously flowing medium. At present there are two basic approaches to the problem, the older technique of continuous-flow analysis (CFA) introduced more than 25 years ago [145] and widely developed by the Technicon Company (Auto-Analyzer), and more recent flow-injection analysis (FIA for a recent literature review see [123]). For a brief comparative survey of the two methods see [148]. 

A further advantage of this system is that it can easily he integrated with a commercial ICP-AES or ICP MS instrument without software or electronic interface modifications. It will operate rehably for a wide range of viscosities and has apphcations not only in the oil industry but also for highly concentrated samples from other areas. It uses standard autoanalyser principles similar to the Technicon Auto Analyzers. 

Gambino and Schreiber (G3) found that plasma in an open Auto-Analyzer cup lost 1.6 mEq/1 of carbon dioxide in 15 minutes 4 mEq/1 in 30 minutes and 5.5 mEq/1 in 60 minutes. Thereafter, the loss plateaued and remained at 7 mEq/1. This loss was prevented by alkalization of plasma by the addition of 1 drop (0.035 ml) of 1 i T ammonium hydroxide... 

Physical and chemical measurements were made weekly at a central station in each side of the lake. Water samples were filtered through Whatman GF/C or Gelman A/E glass-fiber filters (1.0- xm pore size). N03 was measured by reduction to N02" in a cadmium column and formation of a pink azo dye, NH4+ was measured by using a phenol-hypochlorite method, and soluble reactive phosphate was measured by a molybdenum blue method. After 1990 nutrients were measured by using similar methods on a Technicon Auto Analyzer (83). 

Analytical Methods. Temperature, pH, and oxygen were measured in situ by using a combined sensor (Ztillig). Ammonium was determined by flow injection analysis (27), and nitrate and silicate by spectrophotometric methods (Auto-Analyzer) (28). Sulfide was determined by using a H2S-specific electrode (29). 

The concentrations of glutamic acid in some fermentation broths were determined by the microbial sensor and by the Auto-analyzer method. The results were in good agreement. The response of the sensor was constant for more than 3 weeks and 1500 assays. Thus the microbial sensor appears to be very attractive for the determination of glutamic acid. 

Gochman, N. Adaption of the Auto-Analyzer to Routine Clinical Microdeter-mination. Microchem. J. 11, 358 (1966). 

Lindqvist, B., Roos, T., Fujita, H. 1975. Auto-Analyzer determination of free fatty acids in farm milk. Modification of present methods to simplify transportation of sample. Milchwis-senschaft 30, 12-17. 

Suhren, G. 1983. Beziehungen zwischen den Ergibnissen der FFA-Bestimmung nach der Auto-Analyzer- und BLM-Methode. Deutsch. Milchwirtsch. 34, 214. 

With the modem technology of auto-analyzers whole blood can be used to determine the toxicolog-ically important parameters. For the measurement of the clinical chemistry values, serum is used. 

E445 Jacklyn, C.L.E., Ryder, D.I., Matte, S.J., Moss, M.A., Dymond, L.C., Cousins, C.L. and MacAulay, M.A. (1988). Comparison of serum sodium and chloride results for flame IV-Auto Analyzer II, SMAC, Ektachem 400, and Nova 4 clinical analyzer systems. Clin. Biochem. 21, 167-172. 

The first fully automated instrument for chemical analysis (the Technicon Auto Analyzer ) appeared on the market in 1957. This instrument was designed to fulfill the needs of clinical laboratories, where blood and urine samples are routinely analyzed for a dozen or more chemical species. The number of such analyses demanded by modern medicine is enormous, so it is necessary to keep their cost at a reasonable level. These two considerations motivated the development of analytical. systems that perform several analyses simultaneously with a minimum input of human labor. The use of automatic instruments has spread from clinical laboratories to laboratories for the control of industrial processes and the routine determination of a wide spectrum of species in air, water, soils, and pharmaceutical and... 

Dissolved organic carbon (determined by combustion at 680 °C on a Shi-rnadzu TOC-500 instrument) was about 3.5 mg/L and varied little in samples from different depths and times. Alkalinity (determined by Gran plot titrations) was 3-4 mmol/L, and pH varied with depth and time in the range 7.5-8.5 (21). Dissolved phosphate and silicate were measured in filtered samples by standard automated (Auto-Analyzer) methods (25). 

Consideration of the analyses performed on the 8-channel and both models of the 12-channel Technicon equipment in relation to the earlier discussion means that these latest developments in the field of Auto-Analyzer instrumentation demand standardized sera for calibration purposes. In fact, the successful operation of the SMA-12 instrument is entirely dependent upon the careful analysis and subsequent stability of the standardizing serum, since this is used both for the initial calibration of the various analytical channels and for the subsequent monitoring for drift and application of any correction needed as a result of instrumental drift. Apart from this large demand for standardizing serum (about 70 ml in an 8-hour day), the performance of the SMA-12 should in addition be checked by means of control sera, as for any other method or combination of methods in clinical chemistry. The expense of the standardizing (and to a lesser extent the control) sera used in SMA-12 operation constitutes an important but nevertheless essential fraction of the operating costs of these instruments. 

As a minimum, each batch of analyses in clinical chemistry must include (1) a standard, (2) a blank, and (3) a control that is indistinguishable from the specimens being analyzed. For large batches of analyses, either manually performed or carried out with equipment such as Auto-Analyzers, at least one in every 40 specimens analyzed should be a control. The most important type of control to include in any assessment is one that allows the between-batch reproducibility of the method to be monitored this can be achieved most simply and cheaply by repeating in the subsequent batch the analysis of a patient s specimen included in the previous batch, due care being taken to ensure the stability of the material being analyzed during the interval between batches of analyses. 

Use of the various modifications of the procedure shown in Fig. 8 produces a simplified overall technique that is shown diagrammatically in Fig. 9. The number of separate steps required has been reduced to seven, all of which are relatively simple and free from error, with the exception of reading the galvanometer. A technician can assay 37 sera (74 measurements) in 1 hour. This may be compared with the Auto-Analyzer flame unit, working at the commonly used rate of 60 samples per hour (including standards), where there is the subsequent need to interpret the recorder trace before results can be reported. 

Fig. 5. Relation between serum alkaline phosphatase determined in the Auto-Analyzer and by the manual method. AutoAnalyzer units are King-Armstrong, and manual units are Bodansky-Shinowara (F14).

Typical laboratories have Technicon Auto-analyzers for each of the common repetitive assays (the product of the fermentations, carbohydrates, phosphate, various ions, specific enzymes, etc.). Other equipment generally includes balances, gas chromatographs, high pressure liquid chromato-... 

R.E. Stanton, A.J. McDonald, Application of the Auto Analyzer to the determination of zinc in soils and sediments, Analyst 88 (1963) 608. 

Owing to the quicker processing speed, and especially the need to apply lower amounts of sample solution, one would generally employ the auto-analyzer method to this end. The method is also described in the aforementioned textbook. The auto-analyzer can be either self-built or may be purchased from diverse commercial suppliers as a ready-to-use appliance. The analysis of marine pore water is generally characterized by small sample volumes and, as for some parameters, concentrations that are distinctly different from... 

Mottershead, B. E. Estimation of sulfur in biological materials using the Technicon Auto Analyzer Laboratory Practice 20 (1971) 483-184. 

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