Claims
- 1. A method for measuring electrochemiluminescent phenomena of a sample, said method comprising the steps of:
- (a) introducing said sample into a cell having a working electrode located within said cell so as to be exposable to said sample;
- (b) applying a controlled voltage waveform to said working electrode to trigger electrochemiluminescence in said sample;
- (c) generating said controlled voltage waveform such that said waveform is substantially sinusoidal in shape in the voltage range for which electrochemiluminescence is triggered; and
- (d) detecting electrochemiluminescent radiation from said sample.
- 2. A method as in claim 1, further comprising the steps of synthesizing said controlled voltage waveform in digital form and converting said digital waveform to an analog waveform.
- 3. A method for measuring electrochemiluminescent phenomena of a sample, said method comprising the steps of:
- (a) introducing said sample into a cell having a working electrode located within said cell so as to be exposable to said sample;
- (b) applying a controlled voltage waveform to said working electrode to trigger electrochemiluminescence in said sample;
- (c) generating said controlled voltage waveform such that said waveform becomes substantially flat within a portion of the voltage range for which electrochemiluminescence is triggered; and
- (d) detecting electrochemiluminescent radiation from said sample.
- 4. A method as in claim 3, further comprising the steps of synthesizing said controlled voltage waveform in digital form and converting said digital waveform to an analog waveform.
- 5. A method as in claim 3, wherein said voltage range is between approximately 1.4 and 1.6 volts.
- 6. A method for measuring electrochemiluminescent phenomena of a sample, said method comprising the steps of:
- (a) introducing said sample into a cell having a working electrode located within said cell so as to be exposable to said sample;
- (b) applying a controlled voltage waveform to said working electrode to trigger electrochemiluminescence in said sample;
- (c) generating said controlled voltage waveform as a function of time such that prior to the triggering of electrochemiluminescence the magnitude of said controlled voltage waveform changes at at least a first time rate of change and after the triggering of electroluminescence the magnitude of said controlled voltage waveform changes at at least a second time rate of change whose absolute value is less than that of the first time rate of change; and
- (d) detecting electrochemiluminescent radiation from said sample.
- 7. The method of claim 6, wherein the step of generating said controlled voltage waveform comprises detecting the commencement of electrochemiluminescence and reducing the absolute value of the time rate of change of said controlled voltage waveform from that of said first time rate of change to that of said second time rate of change in response to the detection of the commencement of electrochemiluminescence.
- 8. Apparatus for measuring electrochemiluminescent phenomena of a sample, comprising:
- (a) cells means having a working electrode located within said cell means so as to be exposable to said sample;
- (b) voltage control means for applying a waveform to aid working electrode to trigger electrochemiluminescence in said sample;
- (c) means for generating said controlled voltage waveform as a function of time such that prior to the triggering of electrochemiluminescence the magnitude of said controlled voltage waveform changes at at least a first time rate of change and after the triggering of electrochemiluminescence the magnitude of said controlled voltage waveform changes at at least a second time rate of change whose absolute value is less than that of the first time rate of change; and
- (d) means for detecting electrochemiluminescent ration from said sample.
- 9. An apparatus as in claim 8, wherein the means for generating said controlled voltage waveform comprises means for detecting the commencement of electrochemiluminescence and reducing the absolute value of the time rate of change of said controlled voltage waveform from that of said first time rate of change to that of said second time rate of change in response to the detection of the commencement of electrochemiluminescence.
Parent Case Info
This application is a continuation of application Ser. No. 07/325,459, filed Mar. 17, 1989 now U.S. Pat. No. 4,910,981, which, in turn, is a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 07/267,234, filed Nov. 3, 1988, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,061,445.
US Referenced Citations (16)
Foreign Referenced Citations (2)
Number |
Date |
Country |
862734 |
May 1986 |
WOX |
8910551 |
Nov 1989 |
WOX |
Non-Patent Literature Citations (1)
Entry |
Y. Ikariyama et al., "Electrochemical Luminescence-based Homogeneous Immunoassay", Biochemical and Biophysical Research Comm., vol. 128, No. 2, pp. 987-992, Apr. 30, 1985. |
Continuations (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
325459 |
Mar 1989 |
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Continuation in Parts (1)
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Number |
Date |
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Parent |
267234 |
Nov 1988 |
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