2-NEBULIZER AUTOMATIC SYSTEM FOR SOLID-SURFACE ROOM-TEMPERATURE PHOSPHORESCENCE ANALYSIS

The use of nebulizers as sample introduction devices is a considerable advance towards the automation of SSRTP (Solid Surface Room-Temperature Phosphorescence Analysis). The manual steps remaining in previously reported automated systems have been eliminated, making the technique less dependent on random errors and experimentator's expertise. Sixteen to twenty measurements were easily taken in less than one minute, and six-point calibration curves were obtained in approximately two hours of analysis time. Clogging problems with heavy atom solutions were solved by employing the appropriate nebulizer conditions. The tedious procedure of pre-mixing solutions, involved in the previous system, has been avoided by using two nebulizers to separately spray the analyte and the heavy-atom solutions onto the filter paper.