Software AutoAnalysis

A third major development which was necessary for the commercial implementation of this instrument, was the further development of the software for data analysis. In the initial work described above, the software was developed to the point where the user could read the sequence from the plots of dye concentration vs. time. However, in order for this method to be useful, it was essential that the software automatically call the sequence. Indeed, this capability was the major impetus behind the development of the method, intended to eliminate the need for laborious manual interpretation of data. The problem of autoanalysis is a nontrivial exercise in pattern recognition. At this time, the autoanalysis software developed at ABI and employed on the commercial instrument is approximately 98% accurate, and further improvements under development are expected to increase the accuracy substantially. 

This system is governed via AutoAnalysis software that allows the implementation of a number of polarographic and voltammetric techniques ranging in complexity from amperometry with three electrodes to anodic or cathodic differential pulse stripping voltammetry. 

The detector devised in our workshop consists of two separate boxes. One contains the photomultiplier and flow cell, and the other the whole circuitry required to operate the detector including an RS232C interface to connect to a PC serial port. The instrument is supplied with a dedicated DLL file intended to facilitate its use in flow techniques by running the software AutoAnalysis. 

Table 5.2 Electroanalytical Flow Techniques Implemented on the Amel 473 Polarograph and Controlled via the Software AutoAnalysis...

In this chapter we will mainly focus on the description of a software specially designed to flow techniques AutoAnalysis , developed by our research group [4]. 

All these considerations should be taken into account in order to develop or choose a software. The best choice would be a software which operates the same way. To fulfill all these requirements, the application should develop analytical methods, acquire and process data independently of the hardware. AutoAnalysis was designed following this model, i.e. consisting of three layers, namely, hardware (layer 1), instruments and communication channels (layer 2) and application (layer 3). 

AutoAnalysis is a software which affords high flexibility in automatiDg analytical methods. Thus, with an appropriate choice of instrumental modules and the required DLLs, AutoAnalysis allows the automatic or semiautomatic implementation of a host of flow techniques including FIA, SIA, MCFIA, MPFS, MSFIA, LOV, capillary electrophoresis (CE) and high-performance hquid chromatography... 

Although it was primarily conceived for flow techniques, AutoAnalysis also affords the automation of other laboratory processes such as maintaining the pH of a medium by addition of appropriate amounts of an acid or base (pHStat) or controlling bioreactors. In fact, this software provides a wide range of solutions only limited by the user s instrumentation. 

The software is written in Delphi and Visual C-l—I- and offers a window-based graphical surface. It runs on all 32-bit operation systems from Microsoft Corporation (MS-Windows XP). The minimum hardware requirements for AutoAnalysis include a computer with a Pentium microprocessor running Windows 95 or higher, 16 MB of RAM (32 MB is recommended) and 10 MB of free hard disk space. 

AutoAnalysis consists of a core program and a body of DLLs that facUitate connection to various types of instruments and their control. The distinctive feature of this software based on DLLs at 32 bits is the possibility of using a single and versatile application without further modification for whatever instrumentation and detection system needed. It involves a basic protocol which allows the implementation of specific and individual DLLs, addressing the configuration of the assembled flow analyzer. Thus being a very flexible tool, easy to handle by nonspeciahzed users. 

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