Previously, our in-house built LED spectrophotometer used through-hole electrical components that were soldered into a printed circuit board with wires soldered to connector jacks and controls mounted in the enclosure. In this study, the latest version of our LED spectrophotometer uses surface-mounted electrical components integrated with connector jacks, and controls in order to ruggedize the assembly, improve uniformity, improve manufacturability, and reduce costs. This latest version of our LED spectrophotometer was tested against 3 different commercial spectrophotometers for the determination of Brilliant Blue FCF (Blue 1) food dye in water at 635 nanometers (nm), and the determination Fe in water by the by the 1,10-phenanthroline method at 510 nm. The performance of our LED spectrophotometer was comparable to that of the 2 different commercial spectrophotometers; however, a component in the LED drive circuit was initially problematic and this problem was resolved by modifying the circuit. Data indicate a path to improvement which will be built in the next design iteration.

Designing, building, and testing an accurate, precise, and affordable light emitting diode spectrophotometer that uses surface-mounted electrical components

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