Optical systems and methods for rapid screening of libraries of different materials

• US 20050009081A1
• Filed: 08/06/2004
• Published: 01/13/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 07/23/1996
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Freeslate Inc. (Unchained Labs Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Symyx Technologies Incorporated (Dassault Systemes SA)
• Inventors: McFarland, Eric W., Danielson, Earl, Archibald, William
• Application Number:
  US10/913,569
• Publication Number:
  US 20050009081A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 435/6
• CPC Class Codes: B01J 19/0046 Sequential or parallel reactions, e.g. for the synthesis of polypeptides or polynucleotides; Apparatus and devices for combinatorial chemistry or for making molecular arrays synthesis methods per se C40B50/00
• CPC Class Codes: B01J 2219/00315 Microtiter plates
• CPC Class Codes: B01J 2219/00317 Microwell devices, i.e. having large numbers of wells
• CPC Class Codes: B01J 2219/00364 Pipettes
• CPC Class Codes: B01J 2219/00378 Piezoelectric or ink jet dispensers
• CPC Class Codes: B01J 2219/0043 for direct application of reagents, e.g. through openings in a shutter
• CPC Class Codes: B01J 2219/00443 Thin film deposition
• CPC Class Codes: B01J 2219/00497 Features relating to the solid phase supports
• CPC Class Codes: B01J 2219/005 Beads
• CPC Class Codes: B01J 2219/00511 Walls of reactor vessels
• CPC Class Codes: B01J 2219/00515 in the shape of strings
• CPC Class Codes: B01J 2219/0052 in the shape of elongated tubes
• CPC Class Codes: B01J 2219/00527 Sheets
• CPC Class Codes: B01J 2219/00536 in the shape of disks
• CPC Class Codes: B01J 2219/00583 Features relative to the processes being carried out
• CPC Class Codes: B01J 2219/00585 Parallel processes
• CPC Class Codes: B01J 2219/0059 Sequential processes
• CPC Class Codes: B01J 2219/00596 Solid-phase processes
• CPC Class Codes: B01J 2219/00605 the compounds being directly bound or immobilised to solid supports
• CPC Class Codes: B01J 2219/0061 The surface being organic
• CPC Class Codes: B01J 2219/00612 : the surface being inorganic
• CPC Class Codes: B01J 2219/00637 : by coating it with another layer
• CPC Class Codes: B01J 2219/00644 : the porous medium being present in discrete locations, e.g. gel pads
• CPC Class Codes: B01J 2219/00659 : Two-dimensional arrays
• CPC Class Codes: B01J 2219/00675 : In-situ synthesis on the substrate
• CPC Class Codes: B01J 2219/00689 : using computers
• CPC Class Codes: B01J 2219/00702 : Processes involving means for analysing and characterising the products
• CPC Class Codes: B01J 2219/00722 : Nucleotides
• CPC Class Codes: B01J 2219/00738 : Organic catalysts
• CPC Class Codes: B01J 2219/00745 : Inorganic compounds
• CPC Class Codes: B01J 2219/00747 : Catalysts
• CPC Class Codes: B01J 2219/0075 : Metal based compounds
• CPC Class Codes: B01J 2219/00754 : Metal oxides
• CPC Class Codes: B82Y 30/00 : Nanotechnology for materials or surface science, e.g. nanocomposites
• CPC Class Codes: C07F 15/0066 : without a metal-carbon linkage
• CPC Class Codes: C07F 15/045 : without a metal-carbon linkage
• CPC Class Codes: C08F 10/00 : Homopolymers and copolymers of unsaturated aliphatic hydrocarbons having only one carbon-to-carbon double bond
• CPC Class Codes: C40B 30/08 : by measuring catalytic activity
• CPC Class Codes: C40B 40/14 : Libraries containing macromolecular compounds and not covered by groups C40B40/06 - C40B40/12
• CPC Class Codes: C40B 40/18 : Libraries containing only inorganic compounds or inorganic materials
• CPC Class Codes: C40B 50/14 : Solid phase synthesis, i.e. wherein one or more library building blocks are bound to a solid support during library creation; Particular methods of cleavage from the solid support
• CPC Class Codes: C40B 60/14 : for creating libraries
• CPC Class Codes: G01J 4/00 : Measuring polarisation of light
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 21/6452 : Individual samples arranged in a regular 2D-array, e.g. multiwell plates
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 2291/106 : one or more transducer arrays
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 29/036 : by measuring frequency or resonance of acoustic waves
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 29/2418 : using optoacoustic interaction with the material, e.g. laser radiation, photoacoustics photoacoustic cells G01N21/1702; measuring characteristics of vibrations by using radiation-sensitive means G01H9/00; acousto-optical conversion techniques for short-range imaging G01S15/8965; sound-producing devices using laser bundle G10K15/046
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 29/348 : with frequency characteristics, e.g. single frequency signals, chirp signals measuring frequency of mechanical vibrations or acoustic waves in general G01H1/06, G01H3/04; measuring frequency or analysing frequency spectra G01R23/00
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 29/4427 : with stored values, e.g. threshold values

Abstract

Methods and apparatus for screening diverse arrays of materials are provided. In particular, techniques for rapidly characterizing compounds in arrays of materials in order to discover and/or optimize new materials with specific desired properties are provided The substrate can be screened for materials having useful properties, and/or the resulting materials can be ranked, or otherwise compared, for relative performance with respect to useful properties or other characterizations. In particular, systems and methods are provided for screening a library of magnetic materials for their bulk magnetization, saturation magnetizaton, and coercivity by imaging their individual optical Kerr rotation, screening a library of dielectric materials for their dielectric coefficients by imaging their individual electro-optical rotation and screening a library of luminescent materials by imaging their individual luminescent properties under a variety of excitation conditions. Optical or visible luminescence systems are also provided as well as their application to screening libraries of different materials.

Claims

1-26. -26. canceled.

27. A method for characterizing condensed phase materials in a combinatorial array, the method comprising

providing a combinatorial array comprising a plurality of condensed phase materials, each of the plurality of condensed phase materials differing from each other in composition or molecular weight,

irradiating each of the plurality of condensed phase materials with an incident light, so that at least some of the incident light is scattered at an angle relative to the incident light, and

measuring the relative intensity of scattered light for each of the plurality of condensed phase materials.

28. The method of claim 27 wherein the combinatorial array comprises a plurality of condensed phase materials at predefined locations on a substrate.

29. The method of claim 27 wherein the plurality of condensed phase materials are condensed phase reaction products, the method further comprising forming the plurality of condensed phase reaction products by a method that comprises

providing a combinatorial catalyst library comprising a plurality of catalysts, and

catalyzing a plurality of reactions to form a plurality of condensed phase reaction products.

30. The method of claim 29 wherein each of the plurality of catalysts are heterogeneous catalysts.

31. The method of claim 29 wherein each of the plurality of catalysts are homogeneous catalysts.

32. The method of claim 31 wherein each of the plurality of reactions are polymerization reactions.

33. The method of claim 32 wherein each of the plurality of reactions comprise polymerizing one or more olefinic or vinyl monomers.

34. The method of claim 27 wherein each of the condensed phase materials are polymer materials having an average molecular weight and a molecular weight distribution, the method further comprising monitoring the relative differences in the average molecular weight of the condensed phase materials.

35. The method of claim 27 wherein each of the condensed phase materials are polymer materials having an average molecular weight and a molecular weight distribution, the method further comprising monitoring the relative differences in the molecular weight distribution of the condensed phase materials.

36. The method of claim 27 wherein each of the condensed phase materials are polymer materials having an average molecular weight and a molecular weight distribution, the method further comprising monitoring the time-varying differences in the average molecular weight of the condensed phase materials.