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Title: Blood alcohol analyzer
Abstract:
A continuous-flow method and apparatus for the determination of alcohol in a biological fluid such as blood is disclosed. A packed column containing the enzyme alcohol dehydrogenase physically entrapped in a acrylamide gel together with other special ingredients which extend the active life of the enzyme in the test environment is provided. Downstream of the packed column a transparent measurement cell is provided in conjunction with a fluorescence spectrophotometer which is utilized to measure the fluorescence of the effluent which is directly related to the amount of ethyl alcohol in the original sample. The fluorescence measurement is electrically transformed by conventional means into a direct readout of the alcohol content of the sample. This obtains from the fact that alcohol dehydrogenase catalyzes the oxidation of ethyl alcohol in the presence of non-fluorescening NAD to produce acetaldehyde and fluorescing NADH.sub.2. The alcohol dehydrogenase is immobilized and its activity preserved in a manner which allows many tests to be run without any significant loss of enzyme or enzyme activity thereby accomplishing considerable cost reduction in the procedure.
Other info: Inventors: Koch, Robert B. (Starkville, MS, US) Skogen, John D. (Burnsville, MN, US) Application Number: 487710 Filing Date: 1974-07-11 Publication_date: 1976-03-02 Assignee: Honeywell Inc. (Minneapolis, MN) Primary Class(es): 435/26 435/188, 435/288.7, 435/808 Other Classes: US Patent Ref:
Other Refs: Other References: R. Bonnichsen, "Ethanol" "Methods of Enzymatic Analysis" H. U. Bergmeyer, Academic Press, N.Y. & London, pp. 285-287, (1965). Dixon et al., "Enzymes" 2nd Ed. Academic Press, N.Y. pp. 19-22, (1964). | |