Analyzer for nitric oxide in exhaled breath with multiple-use sensor

1. A method for treating an analyzer for detecting gaseous nitric oxide levels in human exhalation so that said analyzer will produce reproducible results upon analyzing a succession of samples of exhaled breath, said method comprising:

purging a nitric oxide sensor of the analyzer with filtered atmospheric air that is substantially NO x -free between analyses, the purging including:

drawing atmospheric air through a NO x -filter of the analyzer to filter the atmospheric air of NO x and establish a purge gas; and

passing the purge gas through a measurement cell containing the sensor;

wherein the sensor includes:

(i) a protein that binds nitric oxide contained in exhaled breath and that undergoes an optically detectable change upon so binding, said protein immobilized in a porous inert matrix at a protein concentration that together with said matrix porosity causes exhaled breath containing 200 ppb or less of nitric oxide to produce said optically detectable change, and

(ii) a desiccant that maintains a controlled moisture level in said matrix without affecting the ability of the analyzer to differentiate between samples containing different nitric oxide levels.

2. The method of claim 1 comprising purging said nitric oxide sensor between analyses with air that is substantially free of all species that bind to said protein.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein said optically detectable change is a change in light absorbance, said analyzer further comprises a light source directed at said sensor and an absorbance detector to measure changes in absorbance in said sensor, and said method further comprises keeping said light source inactivated during said purging and when the analyzer is not in use.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein said purging consists of a succession of pulses of said substantially NO x -free air separated by static intervals with substantially no gas flow through said sensor.

5. The method of claim 4 wherein said purging comprises from two said pulses to ten said pulses, each pulse ranging in duration from about one second to about ten seconds, and said static intervals ranging in duration from about ten seconds to about 3 minutes.

6. The method of claim 4 wherein said purging comprises from two said pulses to five said pulses, each pulse ranging in duration from about two seconds to about six seconds, and said static intervals ranging in duration from about thirty seconds to about two minutes.

7. The method of claim 1 further comprising thermally equilibrating said sensor to a temperature of from about 25° C. to about 35° C. subsequent to said purging.

8. The method of claim 7 wherein said thermal equilibration is performed for duration of from about one minute to about fifteen minutes.

9. The method of claim 1 wherein said analyzer further comprises a CO 2 filter, and said method further comprises passing said substantially NO x -free air through said CO 2 filter before purging said nitric oxide sensor with said substantially NO x -free air.

10. The method of claim 1 wherein said NO x filter comprises a packed bed of potassium permanganate or a molecular sieve 13x.

11. The method of claim 1 wherein said protein is cytochrome C.

12. The method of claim 1 wherein said protein is cytochrome C and said matrix is a xerogel.

13. The method of claim 1 wherein said desiccant is molecular sieve 3A.

14. The method of claim 1 wherein said protein is cytochrome C, said matrix is a xerogel or an aerogel, and said cytochrome C and matrix together form a monolith with a concentration of from about 1 mg to about 40 mg cytochrome C per cubic centimeter of said monolith, a monolith pore diameter of from about 2 nm to about 10 nm, and a monolith surface area of from about 550 m 2 /g to about 650 m 2 /g.