Fluorescamine peptide analyzer

Claim 1

AN IMPROVED FLUORESCENCE PEPTIDE ANALYZER WHICH ANALYZER COMPRISES IN COBINATION: A. PEPTIDE SAMPLE SEPARATION MEANS WHEREIN A PEPTIDE CONTAINING SAMPLE IS ELUTED INTO AN ELUENT STREAM OF VARYING PEPTIDE CONTENT, B. DISCONTINUOUS TWO-POSITION SAMPLING VALVE MEANS IN OPERATIVE FLUID FLOW RELATIONSHIP WITH SAID PEPTIDE SAMPLE SEPARATION MEANS WHEREBY SAID ELUENT STREAM IS BROUGH TO SAID SAMPLING VALVE MEANS WHEREIN IN A FIRST VALVE POSTION SAID ELUENT STREAM IS SENT TO A FRACTION COLLECTOR AND IN A SECOND VALVE POSITION SAID ELUENT STREAM IS DIVERTED AS A SAMPLE STREAM, C. ALKALINE SOLUTION ADDITION VALVE IN OPERATIVE FLUID FLOW RELATIONSHIP WITH SAID DIVERTED SAMPLE STREAM WHEREIN ALKALINE SOLUTION DERIVED FROM AN ALKALINE SOLUTION STORAGE MEANS IN OPERATIVE FLUID FLOW RELATIONSHIP WITH SAID ADDITION VALVE IS ADDED TO SAID DIVERTED SAMPLE STREAM SO AS TO PODUCE AN ALKALINE SAMPLE STREAM, D. HYDROLYZER COMPONENT IN OPERATIVE FLUID FLOW RELATIONSHIP WITH SAID ALKALINE SAMPLE STREAM, SAID HYDROLYZER COMPONENT COMPRISING AN OUTER ENCLOSURE CONTAINING HEATING MEANS AND AN INNER HYDROLYZER VALVE, SAID HYDROLYZER VAVE COMPRISING I. A CYLINDRICAL PLATE HAVING A PLURALITY OF CHANNELS BORED THROUGH ITS LONGITUDINAL AXIS AND DISPOSED SYMMETRICALLY AROUND ITS CENTER AXIS SAID CYLINDRICAL PLATE BEING ROTATABLY MOUNTED BETWEEN AN UPPER AND A LOWER FIXED PLATE, ONE OF SAID FIXED PLATES HAVING ALKALINE SAMPLE STREAM INLET MEANS AND BUFFER SOLUTION INLET MEANS WHEREIN BUFFER SOLUTION IS PROVIDED FROM A BUFFER SOLUTION STORAGE MEANS WHICH IS IN OPERATIVE FLOW RELATIONSHIP WITH SAID BUFFER SOLUTION INLET MEANS AND THE OTHER HAVING WASTE OUTLET MEANS AND DETECTION SYSTEM OUTLET MEANS, SAID INLET AND OUTLET MEANS BEING SO CONSTRUCTED AND ARRANGED AS TO BE IN OPERATIVE FLUID FLOW RELATIONSHIP WITH ANY TWO SUITABLY OPPOSED CHANNELS IN SAID CYLINDIRCAL PLATE AND IN PARTICLULAR SAID ALKALINE SAMPLE STREAM INLET MEANS AND SAID WASTE OUTLET MEANS ARE IN OPERATIVE FLUID FLOW RELATIONSHIP WITH EACH OTHER THROUGH A SUITABLY OPPOSED CHANNEL IN SAID CYLINDIRCAL PLATE AND SAID BUFFER SOLUTION INLET MEANS AND SAID DETECTION SYSTEM OUTLET MEANS ARE IN OPERATIVE FLUID FLOW RELATIONSHIP WITH EACH OTHER THROUGH A SUITABLY OPPOSED CHANNEL IN SAID CYLINDRICAL PLATE, AND II. A STEPPING MOTOR OPERATIVELY CONNECTED TO SAID CYLINDRICAL PLATE, SAID STEPPING MOTOR HAVING STEP CORRESPONDING TO THE NUMBER OF CHANNELS IN SAID CYLINDRICAL PLATE WHICH STEPPING MOTOR UPON ACTIVATION WILL CAUSE CORRESPONDING ROTATION OF SAID CYLINDRICAL PLATE, WHEREIN ROTATION OF SAID CYLINDRICAL PLATE WILL CAUSE ENTRAPMENT AND TRANSFER OF ALKALINE SAMPLE STREAM CONTAINED IN THE CHANNEL OPPOSING SAID ALKALINE SAMPLE STREAM INLET MEANS AND WASTE OUTLET MEANS, SAID ENTRAPMENT AND TRANSFER CONTINUING WITH CONCOMITANT HYDROLYSIS OF THE PEPTIDES IN SAID ALKALINE SAMPLE STREAM TO FORM A HYDROLYZED SAMPLE STREAM CONTAINING HYDROLYSIS PRODUCTS HAVING PRIMARY AMINO GROUPS UNTIL SAID CHANNEL HAS BEEN ROTATED TO A POSITION OPPOSING SAID BUFFER SOLUTION INLET MEANS AND SAID DETECTION SYSTEM OUTLET MEANS WHERE SAID HYDROLYZED SAMPLE STREA IS WASHED OUT FROM SAID HYDROLYZER COMPONENT BY BUFFER SOLUTION FROM SAID INLET MEANS, AND, E. FLUORESCENCE DETECTION MEANS IN OPERATIVE FLUID FLOW RELATIONSHIP WITH SAID DETECTION SYSTEM OUTLET MEANS WHEREIN SAID HYDROLYZED SAMPLE STREAM IS TREATED WITH A FLUOROGEN PROVIDED FROM A FLUOROGEN STROAGE MEANS IN OPERATIVE FLUID FLOW RELATIONSIP WITH SAID HYDROLYZED SAMPLE STREAM WHICH PRODUCES A FLUOROPHOR BY REACTION WITH THE PRIMARY AMINO GROUP OF THE HYDROLYSIS PRODUCTS IN SAID HYDROLYZED SAMPLE STREAM, SAID FLUOROPHOR IS EXCITED AND THE RESULTING FLUORESCENCE MEASURED.