What is claimed:
1. A method for making a test device for detecting or quantifying an analyte in a sample comprising:
contacting a membrane with a mixture comprising derivatized, marker-loaded liposomes, and
substantially dehydrating the mixture on the membrane under vacuum pressure at a temperature of from about 4 C. to about 80 C., wherein said mixture further comprises one or more sugars in an amount sufficient to promote the stability of the liposomes during dehydration and rehydration.
2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the derivatized, marker-loaded liposomes are derivatized with an analyte analog.
3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the marker is a fluorescent dye, a visible dye, a bioluminescent material, a chemiluminescent material, an enzymatic substrate, a radioactive material, or an electrochemical marker.
4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the membrane is an absorbent material.
5. The method according to claim 4, wherein the absorbent material is nitrocellulose, glass fiber, woven fabric, nylon, nonwoven material, polyester fabric, rayon, cellulose rayon blend, mixed fiber of cellulose and glass, or polyethersulfone.
6. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:
immobilizing a first binding material specific for the analyte in a capture zone on the membrane.
7. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:
blocking the membrane with one or more blocking agents.
8. The method according to claim 7, wherein the blocking agent is selected from the group consisting of polyvinylpyrrolidone, gelatin, non-fat dry milk, bovine serum albumin, casein, gum arabic, and mixtures thereof.
9. The method according to claim 1, wherein the dehydrating is carried out at a temperature of from about 4 C. to about 50 C.
10. The method according to claim 1, wherein the vacuum pressure is from about 5 to about 25 psi.
11. The method according to claim 1, wherein the one or more sugars are selected from the group consisting of sucrose, trehalose, maltose, glucose, lactose, and mixtures thereof.
12. The method according to claim 1, wherein the one or more sugars are present solely in the mixture.
13. A test device for detecting or quantifying an analyte in a sample comprising:
a membrane which comprises an immobilized liposome zone, wherein the immobilized liposome zone has bound thereto dehydrated, derivatized, marker-loaded liposomes dehydrated under vacuum pressure at a temperature of from about 4 C. to about 80 C. from a mixture which comprises one or more sugars in an amount sufficient to promote the stability of the liposomes during dehydration and rehydration.
14. The test device according to claim 13 further comprising:
a capture zone having a first binding material specific for the analyte bound thereto.
15. The test device according to claim 13, wherein the marker is a fluorescent dye, a visible dye, a bioluminescent material, a chemiluminescent material, an enzymatic substrate, a radioactive material, or an electrochemical marker.
16. The test device according to claim 13, wherein the membrane is an absorbent material.
17. The test device according to claim 16, wherein the absorbent material is nitrocellulose, glass fiber, woven fabric, nylon, nonwoven material, polyester fabric, rayon, cellulose rayon blend, mixed fiber of cellulose and glass, or polyethersulfone.
18. The test device according to claim 13, wherein the one or more sugars are selected from the group consisting of sucrose, trehalose, maltose, glucose, lactose, and mixtures thereof.
19. The test device according to claim 13, wherein the one or more sugars are present solely in the mixture.
20. A method of detecting or quantifying an analyte in a sample comprising:
providing a test device comprising:
a membrane which comprises:
an immobilized liposome zone, wherein the immobilized liposome zone has bound thereto dehydrated, derivatized, marker-loaded liposomes dehydrated under vacuum pressure at a temperature of from about 4 C. to about 80 C. from a mixture which comprises one or more sugars in an amount sufficient to promote the stability of the liposomes during dehydration and rehydration, and
a capture zone having a first binding material specific for the analyte bound thereto, wherein the dehydrated, derivatized, marker-loaded liposomes are derivatized with an analyte analog;
contacting the test device with a solution of said sample;
allowing the solution to migrate through the immobilized liposome zone and into the capture zone by capillary action, wherein the solution rehydrates the dehydrated, derivatized, marker-loaded liposomes which migrate with the solution into the capture zone by capillary action;
permitting any competition to occur between any analyte present in the sample and the derivatized, marker-loaded liposomes for the first binding material;
after said permitting, detecting or quantifying the derivatized, marker-loaded liposomes in the capture zone; and
correlating the presence or amount of the derivatized, marker-loaded liposomes in the capture zone with the presence or amount of the analyte in the sample.
21. The method according to claim 20, wherein the marker is a fluorescent dye, a visible dye, a bioluminescent material, a chemiluminescent material, an enzymatic substrate, a radioactive material, or an electrochemical marker.
22. The method according to claim 20, wherein the membrane is an absorbent material.
23. The method according to claim 22, wherein the absorbent material is nitrocellulose, glass fiber, woven fabric, nylon, nonwoven material, polyester fabric, rayon, cellulose rayon blend, mixed fibers of cellulose and glass, or polyethersulfone.
24. The method according to claim 20, wherein the one or more sugars are selected from the group consisting of sucrose, trehalose, maltose, glucose, lactose, and mixtures thereof.
25. The method according to claim 20, wherein the one or more sugars are present solely in the mixture.
26. A method of detecting or quantifying an analyte in a sample comprising:
providing a test device comprising:
a membrane which comprises:
an immobilized liposome zone, wherein the immobilized liposome zone has bound thereto dehydrated, derivatized, marker-loaded liposomes dehydrated under vacuum pressure at a temperature of from about 4 C. to about 80 C. from a mixture which comprises one or more sugars in an amount sufficient to promote the stability of the liposomes during dehydration and rehydration, and
a capture zone having a first binding material specific for the analyte bound thereto, wherein the dehydrated, derivatized, marker-loaded liposomes are derivatized with a second binding material specific for the analyte and wherein said first binding material binds with a portion of the analyte other than a portion of the analyte for which said second binding material is selected;
contacting the test device with a solution of said sample;
allowing the solution to migrate through the immobilized liposome zone and into the capture zone by capillary action, wherein the solution rehydrates the dehydrated, derivatized, marker-loaded liposomes which migrate with the solution into the capture zone by capillary action;
detecting or quantifying the derivatized, marker-loaded liposomes in the capture zone; and
correlating the presence or amount of the derivatized, marker-loaded liposomes in the capture zone with the presence or amount of the analyte in the sample.
27. The method according to claim 26, wherein the marker is a fluorescent dye, a visible dye, a bioluminescent material, a chemiluminescent material, an enzymatic substrate, a radioactive material, or an electrochemical marker.
28. The method according to claim 26, wherein the membrane is an absorbent material.
29. The method according to claim 28, wherein the absorbent material is nitrocellulose, glass fiber, woven fabric, nylon, nonwoven material, polyester fabric, rayon, cellulose rayon blend, mixed fibers of cellulose and glass, or polyethersulfone.
30. The method according to claim 26, wherein the one or more sugars are selected from the group consisting of sucrose, trehalose, maltose, glucose, lactose, and mixtures thereof.
31. The method according to claim 26, wherein the one or more sugars are present solely in the mixture.
The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.
1. A digitized analog television signal processing system, comprising:
an analog-to-digital converter configured to sample a television signal comprising a video signal;
a demodulation unit configured to demodulate the video signal;
a decoding unit configured to decode the demodulated video signal; and
a control unit configured to adjust the demodulation unit according to a signal quality indicator generated during andor after the decoding of the decoding unit.
2. The digitized analog television signal processing system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the television signal further comprises a sound signal, the digitized analog television signal processing system further comprises a sound processing unit configured to demodulate andor decode the sound signal, the signal quality indicator is further generated during andor after the processing of the sound processing unit.
3. The digitized analog television signal processing system as claimed in claim 2, wherein the demodulation unit comprises a filter bank configured to separate the video signal and the sound signal from the television signal.
4. The digitized analog television signal processing system as claimed in claim 3, wherein the signal quality indicator comprises a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of the video signal, the control unit is configured to make a bandwidth of the filter bank reduced when the SNR is lower than a threshold.
5. The digitized analog television signal processing system as claimed in claim 3, wherein when the signal quality indicator indicates that a sound carrier of the sound signal is different from a presumed sound carrier, the control unit is configured to make a passband center of the filter bank shifted from the presumed sound carrier to the sound carrier.
6. The digitized analog television signal processing system as claimed in claim 3, wherein the signal quality indicator comprises a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of the sound signal, the control unit is configured to make the filter bank suppress the video signal or an adjacent channel interference when the SNR is lower than a threshold.
7. The digitized analog television signal processing system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the demodulation unit demodulates the video signal according to a first standard type, when the signal quality indicator indicates that the decoded video signal is unrecognizable, the control unit is configured to make the demodulation unit demodulate the video signal according to a second standard type.
8. The digitized analog television signal processing system as claimed in claim 2, wherein the analog-to-digital converter samples the television signal at a first sampling rate, and the control unit is configured to make the analog-to-digital converter sample the television signal at a second sampling rate when the signal quality indicator indicates that the video signal or the sound signal has been interfered by an adjacent channel interference signal.
9. The digitized analog television signal processing system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the demodulation unit further comprises a carrier recovery unit configured to lock a video carrier of the video signal at an intermediate frequency, and the control unit is configured to make a loop bandwidth of the carrier recovery unit controlled according to the signal quality indicator.
10. The digitized analog television signal processing system as claimed in claim 9, wherein the signal quality indicator comprises a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of the video signal, the control unit is configured to make the loop bandwidth of the carrier recovery unit reduced when the SNR is lower than a threshold.
11. The digitized analog television signal processing system as claimed in claim 9, wherein when the signal quality indicator indicates that the video carrier is not locked at the intermediate frequency, the control unit is configured to make parameters of the carrier recovery unit reset.
12. The digitized analog television signal processing system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the demodulation unit comprises an equalizer configured to shape a frequency response of the television signal, and the control unit is configured to control the equalizer according to the signal quality indicator.
13. The digitized analog television signal processing system as claimed in claim 12, wherein the signal quality indicator comprises a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of the video signal, and the control unit is configured to make the equalizer reject a high-frequency noise when the SNR is lower than a threshold.
14. The digitized analog television signal processing system as claimed in claim 12, wherein when the signal quality indicator indicates an energy imbalance between a luminance signal and a chrominance signal of the television signal, the control unit is configured to make the equalizer compensate for the energy imbalance.
15. The digitized analog television signal processing system as claimed in claim 12, wherein when the signal quality indicator indicates a group delay between a luminance signal and a chrominance signal of the television signal, the control unit is configured to make the equalizer compensate for the group delay.
16. The digitized analog television signal processing system as claimed in claim 12, wherein when the signal quality indicator indicates a waveform overshoot of the television signal, the control unit is configured to make the equalizer reduce the waveform overshoot.
17. The digitized analog television signal processing system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the demodulation unit comprises an automatic gain controller configured to control a dynamic range of the television signal, and the control unit is configured to control a loop tuning speed of the automatic gain controller according to the signal quality indicator.
18. The digitized analog television signal processing system as claimed in claim 17, wherein the signal quality indicator comprises a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of the video signal, and the control unit is configured to make the automatic gain controller reduce the loop tuning speed of the automatic gain controller when the SNR is lower than a threshold.
19. The digitized analog television signal processing system as claimed in claim 17, wherein when the signal quality indicator indicates that a signal level of a reference signal of the television signal is different from a standard signal level, the control unit is configured to make the automatic gain controller modify the signal level of the reference signal to the standard signal level.
20. The digitized analog television signal processing system as claimed in claim 17, wherein the demodulation unit further comprises a carrier recovery unit configured to lock a video carrier of the video signal at an intermediate frequency, and the control unit is configured to control a loop bandwidth of the carrier recovery unit according to the signal quality indicator.
21. The digitized analog television signal processing system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the signal quality indicator is further generated during andor the demodulation of the demodulation unit, the control unit is further configured to adjust the decoding unit according to the signal quality indicator.