500cm Liquid Waveguide Capillary Flow Cell

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For more information or help choosing an appropriate flow cell, see the LWCC Details page.

Microliter sample volumes — exceptional sensitivity

WPI’s Liquid Waveguide Capillary Cell (LWCC) is a flow cell for absorbance measurements in the ultraviolet, visible and near infra-red ranges. Pathlengths range from 50–500cm, with increasing measuement sensitivity from 50 to 500-fold. The flow cells are fiber coupled and have a very small sample volume ranging from 125mL (50cm pathlength) to 1,250mL (500cm pathlength).

How does it work?

The sample solution is introduced into the LWCC at the liquid input. Light is coupled into the LWCC from a light source via a fiber optic cable. After passing through the LWCC, light is collected with an optical fiber and guided to a detector. The concentration of the sample is determined by measuring its absorbance in the LWCC, similar to a standard UV/VIS spectrometer.

These spectra show the optimal detection limits for LWCCs of varying pathlength. 

Advantages of LWCC over standard cuvettes

Ultra-sensitive absorbance measurements can be performed in the UV, VIS, and NIR portion of the light spectrum. Compared with a standard 1cm cuvette, a 1mAU signal is enhanced 100-fold to 100mAU when using an LWCC-3100. LWCC units can be directly connected to a pump, a fluid injection analysis system, or even filled with a syringe.

Detector requirements

Based on fiber optics, the LWCC is designed for use with WPI’s LEDspec (biophotometric detection system), Tidas I, Tidas 100 and Tidas E spectrometer systems. The LWCC can also be interfaced to any CCD, PDA or scanning type optical spectrometer or photodiode detector with fiber optic input capabilities. WPI also offers a range of light sources, such as FO-6000 (VIS/NIR studies) and D4H (UV/VIS) which can be used in conjunction with the LWCC.

Wavelength range

Designed to work in the UV, VIS and NIR, the LWCC's optical performance is strongly dependent on the solvent used in the wavelength of interest. Please note that in aqueous solutions the wavelength performance is limited (see Efficiency Curves).

Linearity

By Beer’s Law, the absorption of a liquid sample in LWCC bears a linear relationship to the concentration of an analyte. A linear relationship is observed between 0.01–2AU and is limited only by stray light and noise from the spectrometer.

Chemical resistance

Any chemicals that could react with PEEK, Polyimide and fused silica should not be used in LWCC. (If in doubt, please contact WPI for details.)

Applications

Applications include liquid chromatography detection, stopped-flow injection, flow-injection analysis, gas-segmented continuous flow analysis and water monitoring (environmental, oceanic, and drinking water). Please contact WPI to discuss your needs.

There are no specifications for this product.

M.Belz, “Simple and Sensitive Protein Detection System using UV LEDs and Liquid Core Waveguides”, Advanced Environmental, Chemical, and Biological Sensing Technologies V, Optics East, Oct 2007, Proc SPIE, Vol. 6755, 675505.

J.Z. Zhang, “Enhanced Sensitivity in Flow Injection using a Long Pathlength Liquid Waveguide Capillary Flowcell for Spectrophotometric Detection”, Analytical Sciences, Jan 2006, Vol. 22, 57.

J.Z. Zhang, “Shipboard Automated Determination of Trace Concentrations of Nitrite and Nitrate in Oligotrophic Water by Gas-Segmented Continuous Flow Analysis with a Liquid Waveguide Capillary Flow Cell”, Deep Sea Research I, 2000, Vol. 47, 1157.

M. Belz, P. Dress, A. Sukhitskiy, S. Liu, “Linearity and Effective Optical Pathlength of Liquid Waveguide Capillary Cells”, Part of the SPIE Conference on Internal Standardization and Calibration; Architectures for Chemical Sensors, Boston Mass., Sept 1999, SPIE Vol. 3856, 271.

To place an order for this product, please contact the appropriate WPI office or distributor.

Customers from North America can order direct from our corporate office:
World Precision Instruments
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Sarasota, FL 34240-9258

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No application notes are available for this product at this time.