Planar arrays of microparticle-bound polynucleotides
First Claim
1. An apparatus for sequential processing of a plurality of analytes, the apparatus comprising:
- a flow chamber for disposing a population of microparticles in a planar array, each microparticle of a plurality of microparticles of the population having an analyte anchored thereto;
fluidic means for sequentially delivering processing reagents from one or more reservoirs to the flow chamber so that the analytes anchored to the plurality of microparticles are sequentially exposed to the processing reagents; and
detection means for detecting a sequence of optical signals from each microparticle of the plurality, each optical signal of the sequence being indicative of an interaction between a processing reagent and the analyte anchored thereto.
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Abstract
Abstract An apparatus and system are provided for simultaneously analyzing a plurality of analytes anchored to microparticles. Microparticles each having a uniform population of a single kind of analyte attached are disposed as a substantially immobilized planar array inside of a flow chamber where steps of an analytical process are carried out by delivering a sequence of processing reagents to the microparticles by a fluidic system under microprocessor control. In response to such process steps, an optical signal is generated at the surface of each microparticle which is characteristic of the interaction between the analyte carried by the microparticle and the delivered processing reagent. The plurality of analytes are simultaneously analyzed by collecting and recording images of the optical signals generated by all the microparticles in the planar array. A key feature of the invention is the correlation of the sequence of optical signals generated by each microparticle in the planar array during the analytical process.
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Citations
7 Claims
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1. An apparatus for sequential processing of a plurality of analytes, the apparatus comprising:
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a flow chamber for disposing a population of microparticles in a planar array, each microparticle of a plurality of microparticles of the population having an analyte anchored thereto;
fluidic means for sequentially delivering processing reagents from one or more reservoirs to the flow chamber so that the analytes anchored to the plurality of microparticles are sequentially exposed to the processing reagents; and
detection means for detecting a sequence of optical signals from each microparticle of the plurality, each optical signal of the sequence being indicative of an interaction between a processing reagent and the analyte anchored thereto. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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Specification