Liquid-Phase Chlorophyll Fluorescence Adapter for Handy PEA
- Convenient Plug & Play design allows direct connection to Handy PEA in place of standard sensor head (requires Handy PEA system – sold separately)
- Records OJIP parameters from liquid-phase samples held in 2ml capped vials
- Range of amplification settings from x0.25 – x4.0 in addition to x10 gain in Handy PEA (effective max. gain of x40)
- High intensity single red LED (637nm) providing up to 3500 µmol m-2 s-1
- Auto-zero function
- Integral lithium polymer battery re-charged via Handy PEA battery charger
The HPEA/LPA2 is a high performance liquid-phase adapter for the Handy PEA chlorophyll fluorimeter. It has been designed to simply connect to the Handy PEA control unit as a direct replacement for the standard sensor head. It provides measurements of the fast fluorescence kinetics from samples such as suspensions of chloroplasts or algae and any other photosynthetically active suspension contained in 2ml glass capped vials.
The HPEA/LPA2 consists of sophisticated electronics and high sensitivity optics encapsulated in a rugged, lightweight enclosure. Sample vials are dark adapted by placing the vial into the sample compartment where they are protected from ambient light by a retractable cover. During measurement samples are illuminated from the side of the vial with a high-intensity red 637nm LED beam capable of delivering an intensity of up to 3500 μmols m-2 s-1.
Fluorescence emissions are detected via a special low-noise detector mounted directly below the sample vial. The detector is optically filtered to selectively detect fluorescence emissions. The fluorescence signal is recorded by the Handy PEA control unit at acquisition rates of up to 100kHz. The key fluorescence parameters measured are displayed on the LCD display of the Handy PEA control unit before being saved to memory before being transferred to the PEA Plus software for further analysis.
The unit is configured and controlled using both the Handy PEA and HPEA/LPA2 keypads. Initial configuration is performed by zeroing the sensor of the unit by inserting a blank (typically a vial containing de-ionised water) into the sample holder and using the HPEA/LPA2 keypad to initiate a zero function. This automatically offsets any residual signal at the fluorescence detector from subsequent measurements.
Up to 4x gain may also be set directly via the HPEA/LPA2 interface. This gain setting is additional to any gain settings that are configured within the Handy PEA control unit itself. For example, if the Handy PEA is set to 5x gain and the HPEA/LPA2 is set to x2 gain, the effective overall amplification will be x10.
