Flow immunoassay assembly with multiple flow channels

• US 20030175820A1
• Filed: 04/29/2003
• Published: 09/18/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 12/04/2001
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Dave Smith, Eric Waltzer, Greg Liang, Mike Smith, Roger Tatum, Thomas J. Foley
• Original Assignee: Dave Smith, Eric Waltzer, Greg Liang, Mike Smith, Roger Tatum, Thomas J. Foley
• Inventors: Liang, Greg, Smith, Dave, Smith, Mike, Waltzer, Eric, Tatum, Roger, Foley, Thomas J.
• Application Number:
  US10/310,672
• Publication Number:
  US 20030175820A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 435/7.2
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 10/0051 for taking saliva or sputum samples devices for receiving spittle A61J9/00
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 10/0283 with vacuum aspiration, e.g. caused by retractable plunger or by connected syringe A61B10/025, A61B10/0266 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: B01F 2101/23 Mixing of laboratory samples e.g. in preparation of analysing or testing properties of materials
• CPC Class Codes: B01F 33/452 using independent floating stirring elements
• CPC Class Codes: B01F 33/81 Combinations of similar mixers, e.g. with rotary stirring devices in two or more receptacles
• CPC Class Codes: B01F 33/812 in two or more alternative mixing receptacles, e.g. mixing in one receptacle and dispensing from another receptacle
• CPC Class Codes: B01F 35/713 comprising breaking packages or parts thereof, e.g. piercing or opening sealing elements between compartments or cartridges containers or packages per se B65D
• CPC Class Codes: B01F 35/7137 Piercing, perforating or melting membranes or closures which seal the compartments
• CPC Class Codes: B01F 35/7161 the containers being connected coaxially before contacting the contents
• CPC Class Codes: B01F 35/7163 the containers being connected in a mouth-to-mouth, end-to-end disposition, i.e. the openings are juxtaposed before contacting the contents
• CPC Class Codes: B01F 35/7174 using pistons, plungers or syringes
• CPC Class Codes: B01F 35/754251 reciprocating in the mixing receptacle
• CPC Class Codes: B01L 2200/0689 Sealing
• CPC Class Codes: B01L 2300/041 Connecting closures to device or container
• CPC Class Codes: B01L 2300/0825 Test strips
• CPC Class Codes: B01L 2300/0864 comprising only one inlet and multiple receiving wells, e.g. for separation, splitting
• CPC Class Codes: B01L 2400/0478 pistons
• CPC Class Codes: B01L 2400/0622 distribution valves, valves having multiple inlets and/or outlets, e.g. metering valves, multi-way valves
• CPC Class Codes: B01L 2400/0644 rotary valves
• CPC Class Codes: B01L 3/502 with fluid transport, e.g. in multi-compartment structures centrifugal-type cuvettes G01N21/07; analysis by separation into components G01N30/00; automatic analysers G01N35/00
• CPC Class Codes: B01L 3/5023 : with a sample being transported to, and subsequently stored in an absorbent for analysis
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 1/02 : Devices for withdrawing samples sampling of foundation soil E02D1/04; collecting or conveying radioactive samples G01T7/00, e.g. G01T7/02, G01T7/08
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 2035/00158 : Elements containing microarrays, i.e. "biochip"
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 33/48714 : for determining substances foreign to the organism, e.g. drugs or heavy metals drugs by chemical analysis G01N33/94
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 33/54313 : the carrier being characterised by its particulate form
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 33/54366 : Apparatus specially adapted for solid-phase testing
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 33/54373 : involving physiochemical end-point determination, e.g. wave-guides, FETS, gratings
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 33/98 : involving alcohol, e.g. ethanol in breath
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 137/7036 : Jacketed
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 156/1002 : with permanent bending or reshaping or surface deformation of self sustaining lamina
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 436/11 : Automated chemical analysis
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 436/2575 : Volumetric liquid transfer

Abstract

Methods and assemblies are provided for flowing a single sample through a plurality of immunoassay reaction chambers. A flow immunoassay assembly for testing a single sample, includes a sample feed port, a plurality of immunoassay reaction chambers for performing a plurality of different assays on the sample, a plurality of sample flow channels in fluid communication between the sample feed port and the plurality of immunoassay reaction chambers, and one or more sample drive assemblies configured to pump the sample through the plurality of sample flow channels into the plurality of immunoassay reaction chambers. In this manner, several immunoassay tests can be simultaneously performed on the sample. The immunoassay assembly can further include a plurality of buffer flow channels in fluid communication with the plurality of immunoassay reaction chambers, and one or more buffer drive assemblies configured to pump the buffer through the plurality of buffer flow channels into the plurality of immunoassay reaction chambers. The flow immunoassay assembly can further include a plurality of sample distribution chambers configured to receive the sample from the sample feed port, and a plurality of buffer chambers containing the buffer. The flow immunoassay assembly can further include a plurality of sample dispense plungers disposed within the plurality of sample distribution chambers, and a plurality of buffer dispense plungers disposed within the plurality of buffer chambers, in which case, the sample drive assemblies can have a plurality of sample dispense plunger drivers that are configured to move the plurality of sample dispense plungers within the plurality of sample distribution chambers to pump the sample, and the one or more buffer drive assemblies can have a plurality of buffer dispense plunger drivers that are configured to move the plurality of buffer dispense plungers within the plurality of buffer chambers to pump the buffer.

Claims

1. A flow immunoassay assembly for testing a single sample, comprising:

a sample feed port;

a plurality of immunoassay reaction chambers for performing a plurality of different assays on said sample;

a plurality of sample flow channels in fluid communication between said sample feed port and said plurality of immunoassay reaction chambers; and

one or more sample drive assemblies configured to pump said sample through said plurality of sample flow channels into said plurality of immunoassay reaction chambers.

2. The flow immunoassay assembly of claim 1, wherein said plurality of sample flow channels comprises five or more.

3. The flow immunoassay assembly of claim 1, further comprising a plurality of sample distribution chambers configured to receive said sample from said sample feed port.

4. The flow immunoassay assembly of claim 3, further comprising:

a plurality of sample dispense plungers disposed within said plurality of sample distribution chambers, wherein said one or more sample drive assemblies comprises a plurality of sample dispense plunger drivers configured to move said plurality of sample dispense plungers within said plurality of sample distribution chambers to pump said sample through said plurality of sample flow channels into said plurality of immunoassay reaction chambers.

5. The flow immunoassay assembly of claim 3, further comprising a valve for selectively placing said sample feed port in fluid communication with said plurality of sample distribution chambers, and for selectively placing said plurality of sample distribution chambers in fluid communication with said plurality of immunoassay reaction chambers.

6. The flow immunoassay assembly of claim 5, wherein said valve is a rotary valve.

7. The flow immunoassay assembly of claim 1, further comprising:

a plurality of buffer flow channels in fluid communication with said plurality of immunoassay reaction chambers;

and one or more buffer drive assemblies configured to pump buffer through said plurality of buffer flow channels into said plurality of immunoassay reaction chambers.

8. The flow immunoassay assembly of claim 7, wherein said plurality of sample flow channels comprises five or more, and said plurality of buffer flow channels comprises five or more.

9. The flow immunoassay assembly of claim 7, further comprising:

a plurality of sample distribution chambers configured to receive said sample from said sample feed port; and

a plurality of buffer chambers configured to contain said buffer.

10. The flow immunoassay assembly of claim 9, further comprising:

a plurality of sample dispense plungers disposed within said plurality of sample distribution chambers, wherein said one or more sample drive assemblies comprises a plurality of sample dispense plunger drivers configured to move said plurality of sample dispense plungers within said plurality of sample distribution chambers to pump said sample through said plurality of sample flow channels into said plurality of immunoassay reaction chambers; and

a plurality of buffer dispense plungers disposed within said plurality of buffer chambers, wherein said one or more buffer drive assemblies comprises a plurality of buffer dispense plunger drivers configured to move said plurality of buffer dispense plungers within said plurality of buffer distribution chambers to pump said buffer through said plurality of buffer flow channels into said plurality of immunoassay reaction chambers.

11. The flow immunoassay assembly of claim 9, further comprising a valve for selectively placing said sample feed port in fluid communication with said plurality of sample distribution chambers, for selectively placing said plurality of sample distribution chambers in fluid communication with said plurality of immunoassay reaction chambers, and for selectively placing said plurality of buffer chambers in fluid communication with said plurality of immunoassay reaction chambers.

12. The flow immunoassay assembly of claim 11, wherein said valve is a rotary valve.

13. A method of analyzing a single sample, comprising:

pumping said sample from a sample feed port into a plurality of sample distribution chambers;

pumping said sample from said plurality of sample distribution chambers through a plurality of immunoassay reaction chambers for performing a plurality of different assays on said sample; and

measuring a reaction occurring in each of said plurality of immunoassay reaction chambers.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein said plurality of immunoassay reaction chambers comprises five or more.

15. The method of claim 13, further comprising pumping buffer from a plurality of buffer chambers through said plurality of immunoassay reaction chambers.

16. The method of claim 13, wherein said pumping of said sample produces a plurality of analyte detectable sample solutions within said plurality of immunoassay reaction chambers, and said reaction measuring comprises flowing said plurality of analyte detectable sample solutions through a plurality of read cells from said plurality of immunoassay reaction chambers, and measuring a plurality of analyte indicators in said plurality of analyte detectable sample solutions.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein said plurality of analyte indicators comprises a plurality of different labeled antigen.

18. The method of claim 13, wherein said sample comprises saliva.

19. The method of claim 13, wherein said sample comprises bodily fluid.

20. A flow immunoassay assembly for testing a sample, comprising:

a first plurality of immunoassay reaction chambers;

a second plurality of immunoassay reaction chambers;

a first plurality of sample flow channels in fluid communication with said first plurality of immunoassay reaction chambers; and

a second plurality of sample flow channels in fluid communication with said second plurality of immunoassay reaction chambers;

a first sample drive assembly configured to pump said sample through said first plurality of sample flow channels into said first plurality of immunoassay reaction chambers; and

a second sample drive assembly configured to pump said sample through said second plurality of sample flow channels into said second plurality of immunoassay reaction chambers.

21. The flow immunoassay assembly of claim 20, wherein each of said first and second pluralities of sample flow channels comprises three or more.

22. The flow immunoassay assembly of claim 20, wherein said first and second sample motor assemblies are configured to pump said sample through said first and second pluralities of sample flow channels at substantially different rates.

23. The flow immunoassay assembly of claim 20, further comprising:

a first plurality of sample distribution chambers in fluid communication with said first plurality of sample flow channels, and being configured to contain said sample; and

a second plurality of sample distribution chambers in fluid communication with said second plurality of sample flow channels, and being configured to contain said sample.

24. The flow immunoassay assembly of claim 23, wherein said first and second pluralities of sample distribution chambers can be configured to contain different quantities of said sample.

25. The flow immunoassay assembly of claim 23, further comprising:

a first plurality of sample dispense plungers disposed within said first plurality of sample distribution chambers, wherein said first sample drive assembly comprises a first plurality of sample dispense plunger drivers configured to move said first plurality of sample dispense plungers within said first plurality of sample distribution chambers to pump said sample through said first plurality of sample flow channels into said first plurality of immunoassay reaction chambers; and

a second plurality of sample dispense plungers disposed within said second plurality of sample distribution chambers, wherein said second sample drive assembly comprises a second plurality of sample dispense plunger drivers configured to move said second plurality of sample dispense plungers within said second plurality of sample distribution chambers to pump said sample through said second plurality of sample flow channels into said second plurality of immunoassay reaction chambers.

26. The flow immunoassay assembly of claim 20, further comprising a valve for selectively placing said first and second pluralities of sample flow channels in fluid communication with said first and second pluralities of immunoassay reaction chambers.

27. The flow immunoassay assembly of claim 26, wherein said valve is a rotary valve.

28. The flow immunoassay assembly of claim 20, further comprising:

a first plurality of buffer flow channels in fluid communication with said first plurality of immunoassay reaction chambers; and

a second plurality of buffer flow channels in fluid communication with said second plurality of immunoassay reaction chambers;

a first buffer drive assembly configured to pump buffer through said first plurality of buffer flow channels into said first plurality of immunoassay reaction chambers; and

a second buffer drive assembly configured to pump buffer through said second plurality of buffer flow channels into said second plurality of immunoassay reaction chambers.

29. The flow immunoassay assembly of claim 28, wherein each of said first and second pluralities of sample flow channels comprises three or more, and each of said first and second pluralities of buffer flow channels comprises three or more.

30. The flow immunoassay assembly of claim 28, wherein said first and second sample motor assemblies are configured to pump said sample through said first and second pluralities of sample flow channels at substantially different rates, and said first and second buffer motor assemblies are configured to pump said buffer through said first and second pluralities of buffer flow channels at substantially different rates.

31. The flow immunoassay assembly of claim 28, further comprising:

a first plurality of sample distribution chambers in fluid communication with said first plurality of sample flow channels, and being configured to contain said sample;

a second plurality of sample distribution chambers in fluid communication with said second plurality of sample flow channels, and being configured to contain said sample;

a first plurality of buffer chambers in fluid communication with said first plurality of buffer flow channels, and being configured to contain said buffer;

a second plurality of buffer chambers in fluid communication with said second plurality of buffer flow channels, and being configured to contain said buffer.

32. The flow immunoassay assembly of claim 31, further comprising:

a first plurality of sample dispense plungers disposed within said first plurality of sample distribution chambers, wherein said first sample drive assembly comprises a first plurality of sample dispense plunger drivers configured to move said first plurality of sample dispense plungers within said first plurality of sample distribution chambers to pump said sample through said first plurality of sample flow channels into said first plurality of immunoassay reaction chambers;

a second plurality of sample dispense plungers disposed within said second plurality of sample distribution chambers, wherein said second sample drive assembly comprises a second plurality of sample dispense plunger drivers configured to move said second plurality of sample dispense plungers within said second plurality of sample distribution chambers to pump said sample through said second plurality of sample flow channels into said second plurality of immunoassay reaction chambers;

a first plurality of buffer dispense plungers disposed within said first plurality of buffer distribution chambers, wherein said first buffer drive assembly comprises a first plurality of buffer dispense plunger drivers configured to move said first plurality of buffer dispense plungers within said first plurality of buffer distribution chambers to pump said buffer through said first plurality of buffer flow channels into said first plurality of immunoassay reaction chambers; and

a second plurality of buffer dispense plungers disposed within said second plurality of buffer distribution chambers, wherein said second buffer drive assembly comprises a second plurality of buffer dispense plunger drivers configured to move said second plurality of buffer dispense plungers within said second plurality of buffer distribution chambers to pump said buffer through said second plurality of buffer flow channels into said second plurality of immunoassay reaction chambers.

33. The flow immunoassay assembly of claim 28, further comprising a valve for selectively placing said first and second pluralities of sample flow channels in fluid communication with said first and second pluralities of immunoassay reaction chambers, and selectively placing said first and second pluralities of buffer flow channels in fluid communication with said first and second pluralities of immunoassay reaction chambers.

34. The flow immunoassay assembly of claim 22, wherein said valve is a rotary valve.

35. The flow immunoassay assembly of claim 20, wherein said first plurality of immunoassay reaction chambers are configured for performing a first plurality of different assays on said sample, and said second plurality of immunoassay reaction chambers are configured for performing a second plurality of different assays on said sample.

36. A method of analyzing a sample, comprising:

pumping said sample through a first plurality of immunoassay reaction chambers using a first sample drive assembly;

pumping said sample through a second plurality of immunoassay reaction chambers using a second sample drive assembly; and

measuring a reaction occurring in each of said first and second pluralities of immunoassay reaction chambers.

37. The method of claim 36, wherein each of said first and second pluralities of sample flow channels comprises three or more.

38. The method of claim 36, wherein said sample is pumped through said first and second pluralities of.immunoassay reaction chambers at substantially different rates.

39. The method of claim 36, wherein said sample is pumped through said first and second pluralities of immunoassay reaction chambers at different quantities.

40. The method of claim 36, further comprising:

pumping buffer through said first plurality of immunoassay reaction chambers using a first buffer drive assembly; and

pumping said buffer through a second plurality of immunoassay reaction chambers using a second buffer drive assembly.

41. The method of claim 36, wherein said sample flow produces first and second pluralities of analyte detectable sample solutions within said first and second pluralities of immunoassay reaction chambers, and said reaction measuring comprises flowing said first and second pluralities of analyte detectable sample solutions through first and second pluralities of read cells from said first and second pluralities of immunoassay reaction chambers, and measuring first and second pluralities of analyte indicators in said first and second pluralities of analyte detectable sample solutions.

42. The method of claim 41, wherein each of said first and second pluralities of analyte indicators comprises different labeled antigen.

43. The method of claim 36, wherein said sample comprises saliva.

44. The method of claim 36, wherein said sample comprises bodily fluid.

45. The method of claim 36, wherein said first plurality of immunoassay reaction chambers are configured for performing a first plurality of different assays on said sample, and said second plurality of immunoassay reaction chambers are configured for performing a second plurality of different assays on said sample.