Optical molecular analysis using office flatbed photo scanner: New approaches and solutions.

The design and operations principles of a prototype of optical device based on an office flatbed photo scanner with a slide adapter are described in the paper. The developed device is intended for the analysis of liquid-phase samples by colorimetry, photometry, fluorimetry and nephelometry. Teflon cassettes designed for fixing cuvettes on glass plate of the scanner. Teflon wedge-shaped inserts for cuvettes have been developed to optimize the conditions of colorimetric analysis. These inserts allow varying the thickness of the absorbing layer of solutions. Multilayer absorption filters with a variable bandwidth are proposed for light monochromatization. Filters are obtained by the method of inkjet printing on polymer films. A violet laser pointer is used as a light source for fluorimetric and nephelometric analysis. The principal possibility of measuring the absorption and fluorescence spectra using photo scanner is shown. The analytical capabilities of the developed prototype of an optical molecular analyzer are demonstrated when determining riboflavin in an injection solution, acetylsalicylic acid and magnesium hydroxide in Cardiomagnyl® drug.