Optical flow cell assembly incorporating a replaceable transparent flow cell
First Claim
1. An optical flow cell assembly comprising:
- a transparent flow cell;
a manifold configured to contain the flow cell;
a read head comprisinga beam generating light source aligned to emit a beam of light along an axis of the read head; and
wherein the read head is configured to be directly registered to the flow cell, thereby aligning the flow cell to the read head,wherein the read head further comprisesa plurality of read head vertical alignment posts configured to contact at least one planar alignment surface of the flow cell to define a vertical read head-to-flow cell alignment plane perpendicular to the axis,a read head top plate configured to drive the at least one planar alignment surface against the read head vertical alignment posts,at least one read head horizontal alignment boss configured to contact an alignment step of the flow cell to define a horizontal read head-to-flow cell alignment plane perpendicular to the vertical read head-to-flow cell alignment plane, anda ball plunger configured to drive the alignment step into contact with the at least one read head horizontal alignment boss,wherein the plurality of read head vertical alignment posts is distinct from the read head top plate, is distinct from the at least one read head horizontal alignment boss, and is distinct from the ball plunger,wherein the read head top plate is distinct from the at least one read head horizontal alignment boss and is distinct from the ball plunger, andwherein the at least one read head horizontal alignment boss is distinct from the ball plunger.
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Abstract
A new liquid flow cell assembly for light scattering measurements is disclosed which utilized a floating manifold system. The assembly operates with minimal stacked tolerances by aligning the cell to the windows within a manifold and independently aligning the cell to the read head directly. This configuration enables the ability to replace the flow cell or the flow cell/manifold assembly within a light scattering instrument without the need to realign the flow through elements with the light scattering illumination source while still maintaining reproducible, quality data. Some embodiments employ wide bore cells which enable the measurement of process analytic technology (PAT) including online monitoring of reactions.
30 Citations
18 Claims
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1. An optical flow cell assembly comprising:
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a transparent flow cell; a manifold configured to contain the flow cell; a read head comprising a beam generating light source aligned to emit a beam of light along an axis of the read head; and wherein the read head is configured to be directly registered to the flow cell, thereby aligning the flow cell to the read head, wherein the read head further comprises a plurality of read head vertical alignment posts configured to contact at least one planar alignment surface of the flow cell to define a vertical read head-to-flow cell alignment plane perpendicular to the axis, a read head top plate configured to drive the at least one planar alignment surface against the read head vertical alignment posts, at least one read head horizontal alignment boss configured to contact an alignment step of the flow cell to define a horizontal read head-to-flow cell alignment plane perpendicular to the vertical read head-to-flow cell alignment plane, and a ball plunger configured to drive the alignment step into contact with the at least one read head horizontal alignment boss, wherein the plurality of read head vertical alignment posts is distinct from the read head top plate, is distinct from the at least one read head horizontal alignment boss, and is distinct from the ball plunger, wherein the read head top plate is distinct from the at least one read head horizontal alignment boss and is distinct from the ball plunger, and wherein the at least one read head horizontal alignment boss is distinct from the ball plunger. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. A method comprising:
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containing an optical flow cell within a manifold such that the optical flow cell is aligned to the manifold; and registering directly the flow cell to a read head with read head-to-flow cell alignment elements, thereby aligning the flow cell to the read head, wherein the read head comprises a beam generating light source aligned to emit a beam of light along an axis of the read head wherein the read head further comprises a plurality of read head vertical alignment posts configured to contact at least one planar alignment surface of the flow cell to define a vertical read head-to-flow cell alignment plane perpendicular to the axis, a read head top plate configured to drive the at least one planar alignment surface against the read head vertical alignment posts, at least one read head horizontal alignment boss configured to contact an alignment step of the flow cell to define a horizontal read head-to-flow cell alignment plane perpendicular to the vertical read head-to-flow cell alignment plane and a ball plunger configured to drive the alignment step into contact with the at least one read head horizontal alignment boss, wherein the plurality of read head vertical alignment posts is distinct from the read head top plate, is distinct from the at least one read head horizontal alignment boss, and is distinct from the ball plunger, wherein the read head top plate is distinct from the at least one read head horizontal alignment boss and is distinct from the ball plunger, and wherein the at least one read head horizontal alignment boss is distinct from the ball plunger. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18)
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Specification