Nephelometry and turbidimetry with paired emitter detector diodes and their application for determination of total urinary protein Original Research Article

Two miniature and compact optoelectronic devices fabricated by means of integration of light emitting diodes have been developed for turbidimetric and nephelometric measurements. These devices are operating according to paired-emitter-detector-diode (PEDD) principle. The detectors have been characterized using bovine serum albumin and Exton protein assay as a model analyte and a model analytical method, respectively. The developed detectors have been adapted for measurements under conditions of flow injection analysis (FIA). Under optimized conditions the turbidimetric flow system offers the range of linear response up to 400 mg L−1 with the detection limit at 20 mg L−1. The linear range and detection limit found for optimized nephelometric FIA system are 15–500 mg L−1 and 8 mg L−1, respectively. The PEDD-based FIA systems with the detector operating according to both modes of measurements have been successfully applied for urinalysis offering total protein determination at physiological and pathological levels with high throughput (over 60 injections per hour).