Patent ID: 7501052

Claim:
A method of evaluating a sample for the presence of a select analyte comprising the steps of: (a) introducing the sample into a space between two electrodes of a conduction cell; (b) applying a potential or current between the two electrodes sufficient to bring about oxidation or reduction of the analyte or of a mediator in an analyte-detection redox system, thereby forming a chemical potential gradient of the analyte or mediator between the two electrodes; (c) after the gradient is established, discontinuing the applied potential or current and obtaining an analyte-independent signal reflecting relaxation of the chemical potential gradient; (d) optionally applying a potential or current between the electrodes after the analyte-independent signal is obtained; (e) obtaining an analyte-dependent signal during the application of the potential or current in step (b) or step (d) or both, and (f) correcting the analyte-dependent signal obtained in step (e) using the analyte-independent signal obtained in step (c) to obtain a corrected analyte-dependent signal indicative of the presence of the selected analyte in the sample.