Dual manifold system and method for fluid transfer
First Claim
1. A dual-manifold assembly for transferring liquid from an array of reservoirs to an array of test sites on a target substrate, comprising:
- a liquid aspiration manifold;
a liquid dispense manifold having a plurality of orifices;
a plurality of conduits for providing fluid connection between said aspiration manifold and said dispense manifold;
a controllable pneumatic pressure source for urging the liquid from said reservoirs through said plurality of conduits toward said dispense manifold; and
, a means for effecting the ejection of at least one droplet of said liquid through at least one of said plurality of orifices and onto at least one of said test sites.
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Abstract
A dual-manifold assembly is provided for the rapid, parallel transfer of liquid reagents from a microtiter plate to a solid state microelectronic device having biological sensors integrated thereon. The assembly includes aspiration and dispense manifolds connected by a plurality of conduits. In operation, the aspiration manifold is actuated such that the aspiration manifold is seated onto an array of reagent-filled wells of the microtiter plate. The wells are pressurized to force reagent through conduits toward the dispense manifold. A pressure pulse provided by a standard ink-jet printhead ejects nanoliter-to-picoliter droplets of reagent through an array of printhead orifices and onto test sites on the surface of the microelectronic device.
31 Citations
25 Claims
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1. A dual-manifold assembly for transferring liquid from an array of reservoirs to an array of test sites on a target substrate, comprising:
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a liquid aspiration manifold;
a liquid dispense manifold having a plurality of orifices;
a plurality of conduits for providing fluid connection between said aspiration manifold and said dispense manifold;
a controllable pneumatic pressure source for urging the liquid from said reservoirs through said plurality of conduits toward said dispense manifold; and
,a means for effecting the ejection of at least one droplet of said liquid through at least one of said plurality of orifices and onto at least one of said test sites. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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21. A method for transferring liquid reagent from an array of source plate reservoirs to an array of test sites on a target substrate using a dual-manifold assembly, comprising the steps of:
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positioning said source plate below an aspiration manifold;
positioning said target substrate below a dispense manifold having a plurality of channels each terminating at an orifice;
seating said aspiration manifold onto said source plate;
pressurizing said source plate reservoirs through at least one pressure conduit to effect the aspiration of reagent from said reservoirs via a plurality of aspiration conduits to said dispense manifold; and
,communicating a force to reagent in said dispense manifold channels for a period of time, wherein said force effects the ejection of a desired volume of said reagent to each of the test sites. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23, 24, 25)
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Specification