Patent ID: 7209223

Claim:
A device for measuring optical properties of a sample, the device comprising: a housing; a flow-through flow-cell disposed within the housing, the flow-cell having a sample inlet positioned proximate to a first end of the flow-cell, a sample outlet positioned proximate to a second end of the flow-cell, and a sample chamber therebetween; a plurality of excitation sources positioned on the housing in an operable relationship to the sample chamber wherein at least one excitation source has an excitation wavelength that is different from the other excitation sources and wherein each excitation source is incident on a sample in the flow-cell; at least one fluorescence emission detector positioned in an operable relationship to the flow-cell wherein the fluorescence emission detector detects a continuous broadband spectrum of emission wavelengths emitted from the sample upon excitation by each excitation source; and at least one signal interrogation system positioned in an operable relationship with each detector wherein the signal interrogation system interprets a continuous fluorescence emission spectrum.