Concentrations of free (or unbound, exchangeable, etc.) zinc in liquids can be rapidly measured by a metering device. The meter comprises an enclosure and frame, a receptacle that will hold cuvettes or other liquid sample holders, a light source with an activating (excitatory) wavelength, a photodetector to detect fluorescent emissions at a different wavelength, and circuitry for creating signals based on photodetector measurements. The measurements use any of several fluorophore reagents that generate increased fluorescence intensity when bound to available zinc in a liquid. Each fluorophore has its own zinc response traits. This requires a different response curve to be determined and used for each fluorophore, to allow fluorescent measurements using a specific fluorophore to be correlated with zinc concentrations. Stand-alone operations, interactions with computers, calibration cuvettes, and disposable supplies are described.
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