DIY Microvolume Spectrophotometers

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DIYNanoDrop.jpg

Attempt to build DIY Microvolume Spectrophotometers or Fluorospectrometers to quantitate micro-volumes of sample. The NanoDrop products are very popular in scientific labs. The measurement principle of holding a drop between two points - the light source and the sensor - allows to measure samples as small as 0.5µL up to 2µL micro volume without a cuvette. The simple basic principle should be perfect for DIY lab equipment. Let's try.
To start simple, two approaches are tested, one using an LED and a photo sensor. The second, more advanced, using a DIY spectrometer.

DIY NanoDropProto1.jpg

First prototype.

Possible applications:

- Turbidity measurement
- Spectral data and purity analysis
- Measure nucleic acid, protein and colorimetric assays
- Microvolume fluorescence measurements


Now the NanoDrop principle seems to be patented (patent US6628382 and US6809826). However there are many similar products on the market under the term of "Microvolume Spectrophotometers"...? Doesn't matter anyways if you just build one for your own use.

DIY NanoDropPatent1.pngDIY NanoDropPatent2.png

DIY NanoDropTechnicalDrawing1.png


LED-Photosensor

DIY NanoDropConceptLED.png

High performance LEDs can replace expensive light source and filters for excitation.

LED-Spectrometer

NanoDropConceptSpectrometer.png

Links

http://www.google.com/patents/US6628382 http://www.google.com/patents/US6809826 http://www.google.com/search?q=Microvolume+Spectrophotometers&source=lnms&tbm=isch