Apparatus and method for high-throughput preparation, visualization and screening of compositions
First Claim
1. A high-throughput system for processing samples and screening for solid forms of a compound-of-interest, which comprises:
- a) removable containers, each of which contains a compound-of-interest and optionally one or more additional compounds;
b) a block made of a thermally conductive material having an array of holes, each hole having a top and a bottom, the top having an opening for receiving the removable container and the bottom having an access hole;
c) a thermal processing system for heating and cooling multiple blocks simultaneously; and
d) an imaging device for detecting solid forms.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Systems and methods are described that allow the high-throughput preparation, processing, and study of arrays of samples, each of which comprises at least one compound. Particular embodiments of the invention allow a large number of experiments to be performed in parallel on samples that comprised of one or more compounds on the milligram or microgram quantities of compounds. Other embodiments of the invention encompass methods and devices for the rapid screening of the results of such experiments, as well as methods and devices for rapidly determining whether or not similarities exist among groups of samples in an array. Particular embodiments of the invention encompass methods and devices for the high-throughput preparation of different forms of compounds (e.g., different crystalline forms), for the discovery of new forms of old compounds, and for the discovery of new methods of producing such forms. Embodiments of the invention also allow for the high-throughput determination of how specific compounds or forms of compounds behave when exposed to other chemicals or environmental conditions.
-
Citations
21 Claims
-
1. A high-throughput system for processing samples and screening for solid forms of a compound-of-interest, which comprises:
-
a) removable containers, each of which contains a compound-of-interest and optionally one or more additional compounds;
b) a block made of a thermally conductive material having an array of holes, each hole having a top and a bottom, the top having an opening for receiving the removable container and the bottom having an access hole;
c) a thermal processing system for heating and cooling multiple blocks simultaneously; and
d) an imaging device for detecting solid forms. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4)
-
-
5. A method for the high-throughput processing and screening of samples, which comprises:
-
a) providing a system for processing a sample comprising;
i) removable containers; and
ii) a block having an array of holes, each hole having a top and a bottom, the top having an opening for receiving a container and the bottom having an access hole;
b) placing the containers in the holes;
c) dispensing a controlled amount of a compound-of-interest and optionally one or more additional compounds in each container to provide an array of samples;
d) processing the array; and
e) screening the samples for the presence or absence of solid forms using an imaging device. - View Dependent Claims (6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
-
-
12. An automated high throughput method for screening for solid forms of a compound-of-interest, wherein the compound-of-interest is a biologically active small organic molecule, which comprises:
-
a) preparing an array of samples, each of which comprises the compound-of-interest and optionally one or more additional compounds;
b) processing the array so as to generate solid forms;
c) prescreening the array for solid formation using a digital imaging camera;
d) identifying samples with solid formations for further analysis;
e) rearranging and reprocessing samples with solids, and optionally repeating steps (b) to (d).
-
-
13. A method of evaluating experiments which comprises:
-
a) providing a system for evaluating experiments comprising;
i) a plurality of containers, each of which contains a compound-of-interest and optionally one or more additional compounds;
ii) a block containing an array of holes for receiving the containers; and
iii) an imaging device;
b) positioning the block near the imaging device;
c) producing images of the contents of each of the containers;
d) analyzing the images for the presence of a desired experimental result; and
e) identifying containers with the desired experimental result. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21)
-
Specification