Ultra high throughput sampling and analysis systems and methods
First Claim
1. A method of sampling compounds into a microfluidic channel, comprising:
- providing a plurality of different compounds reversibly immobilized on a first surface of a substrate;
providing a capillary element having a capillary channel disposed therethrough, the capillary element having at least one open end, and a volume of solubilizing fluid present at the open end of the capillary element;
moving the solubilizing fluid at the open end of the capillary element into contact with a first compound on the surface of the substrate;
sensing when the solubilizing fluid contacts the surface of the substrate, the solubilizing fluid dissolving at least a portion of the first compound; and
drawing at least a portion of the dissolved first compound into the capillary element.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Ultra-high throughput systems and methods are used for sampling large numbers of different materials from surfaces of substantially planar library storage components. The systems and methods typically employ: microfluidic devices having integrated capillary elements for carrying out the analysis of the sampled materials; library storage components, e.g., planar solid substrates, capable of retaining thousands, tens of thousands and hundreds of thousands of different materials in small areas; sensing systems for allowing rapid and accurate sampling of the materials by the microfluidic devices, and associated instrumentation for control and analysis of the overall operation of these systems.
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Citations
99 Claims
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1. A method of sampling compounds into a microfluidic channel, comprising:
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providing a plurality of different compounds reversibly immobilized on a first surface of a substrate;
providing a capillary element having a capillary channel disposed therethrough, the capillary element having at least one open end, and a volume of solubilizing fluid present at the open end of the capillary element;
moving the solubilizing fluid at the open end of the capillary element into contact with a first compound on the surface of the substrate;
sensing when the solubilizing fluid contacts the surface of the substrate, the solubilizing fluid dissolving at least a portion of the first compound; and
drawing at least a portion of the dissolved first compound into the capillary element. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27)
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28. A method of sampling compounds into a microfluidic channel, comprising:
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providing a plurality of different compounds reversibly immobilized on a first surface of a substrate;
providing a capillary element having a microfluidic channel disposed therethrough, the capillary element having at least a first open end, the at least first open end having a drop of solubilizing fluid suspended therefrom;
moving the drop of solubilizing fluid suspended from the open end of the capillary element relative to the substrate to place the drop into contact with a first compound immobilized on the first surface of the substrate;
drawing at least a portion of the compound solubilized by the drop of solubilizing fluid into the microfluidic channel within the capillary element.
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29. A method of sampling compounds into a microfluidic channel, comprising:
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providing a capillary element having a microfluidic channel disposed therethrough, the capillary element comprising at least a first open end, and a volume of solubilizing fluid present at the open end of the capillary element;
moving the fluid at the open end of the capillary element into contact with a first compound reversibly immobilized on a first surface of a substrate, the solubilizing fluid solubilizing at least a portion of the compound;
drawing at least a portion of the solubilized compound into the microfluidic channel in the capillary element; and
subsequently repeating the moving and drawing steps with respect to the first compound. - View Dependent Claims (30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35)
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36. A method of sampling a plurality of different compounds into a micro fluidic channel, comprising:
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providing a sample substrate having at least a first surface, the substrate comprising a plurality of different compounds, each compound being reversibly immobilized in a separate discrete region of the first surface of the substrate, the plurality of different compounds being present at a density of a least about 10 different compounds/cm2 of substrate surface;
separately solubilizing a first compound on the surface;
drawing a portion of the solubilized first compound into the capillary element; and
repeating the solubilizing and drawing steps with at least a second compound on the surface of the substrate. - View Dependent Claims (37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61)
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62. A system for analyzing a plurality of different sample materials, comprising:
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a microfluidic element comprising a capillary element having at least a first microfluidic channel disposed therethrough, the capillary element having at least one open end;
a sample substrate comprising a plurality of different sample materials reversibly immobilized thereon, each different sample being immobilized in a different discrete region of the first surface;
a translation system attached to at least one of the substrate or the microfluidic element, for moving the microfluidic element relative o the substrate surface; and
a sensing system for sensing when a volume of fluid at the open end of the capillary element is proximal to or contacts the first surface of the substrate. - View Dependent Claims (63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86)
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87. A method of analyzing a test compound, comprising:
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depositing the test compound onto a surface of a sample substrate at a first position of the surface;
depositing a first reagent onto the surface of the sample substrate at the first position, whereby the test compound and first reagent mix in a first mixture;
drawing at least a portion of the first mixture off of the first surface into a capillary element and moving the mixture into a microscale channel that is fluidly connected to the capillary element; and
analyzing the first mixture in the microscale channel. - View Dependent Claims (88, 89, 90, 91, 92, 93, 94, 95, 96)
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97. A method of sampling multiple different compounds from a sample substrate array, comprising:
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providing a first sample substrate array having the plurality of samples ordered in a first orientation;
separately sampling the plurality of samples and depositing the plurality of samples on a second sample substrate to form a second sample substrate array having the plurality of samples ordered in a second orientation; and
simultaneously sampling the plurality of samples from the second sample substrate array.
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98. A sample substrate array, comprising:
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a substrate having a first surface; and
at least 100 separate test compound spots dried onto the first surface of the substrate, each test compound spot comprising a test compound and at least one excipient agent.
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99. A method of fabricating a sample substrate array, comprising:
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providing a substrate having a first surface;
depositing at least 100 separate test compounds on the first surface of the substrate; and
freeze drying each of the at least 100 separate test compounds on the first surface.
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Specification