This instrument is used for the kinetic analysis of fast reactions. In general conventional UV spectrophotometry cannot measure the kinetics of reactions that occur in less than 10 seconds. This instrument is capable of detecting in either UV or fluorescent mode. This instrument measures nitric oxide in solution using polarography. Basically, nitric oxide selectively diffuses through a gas permeable membrane on the tip of the electrode, where nitric oxide is oxidized to nitrite.
Oxidation results in current flow, which is detected and amplified.
The signal is passed through an A to D converter and passed to a PC for display and storage. This instrument measures oxygen consumption in solution. It works in an identical way to the nitric oxide electrode except that the polarization is reversed, and oxygen is reduced at the electrode tip. This instrument measures very low amounts of nitric oxide using chemiluminescence detection. The basic concept is that nitric oxide reacts with ozone to produce an electronically excited state of nitrogen dioxide, which relaxes back to ground state by giving up light.