Meshwell plates
First Claim
1. A Meshwell plate system comprising:
- a Meshwell plate having one or more meshwells for processing a plurality of small organisms or tissue samples; and
a solution-containing reagent tray or well plate having one or more solution-containing wells, wherein each well bottom of said meshwells is sealed off with a mesh that allows drainage of aqueous solutions without requiring a vacuum or any sucking means, and wherein said well bottom of said one or more meshwells touches a well bottom of said one or more solution-containing wells.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A versatile mesh-bottom Meshwell plate enables simultaneous rapid and highly reproducible high-throughput processing of small tissue samples or organisms. In an embodiment, the Meshwell plate consists of 96 meshwells and is particularly useful in assaying zebrafish embryos. The bottom tips of standard 96-well PCR plates are removed and replaced by a mesh with openings of about 75-300 μm, preferably 150 μm, in size. The Meshwell plate is optimized to allow fast draining of solutions and to prevent “wicking” of solution between wells. Quick and clean changes of solution can be done either by hand or a robot. With the Meshwell plate, waste of reagent solution and handling hazards, which may cause damage to and/or loss of samples, are substantially minimized and/or essentially eliminated. The Meshwell plate can be easily customized according to number of meshwells desired and can be economically mass-produced.
159 Citations
20 Claims
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1. A Meshwell plate system comprising:
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a Meshwell plate having one or more meshwells for processing a plurality of small organisms or tissue samples; and
a solution-containing reagent tray or well plate having one or more solution-containing wells, wherein each well bottom of said meshwells is sealed off with a mesh that allows drainage of aqueous solutions without requiring a vacuum or any sucking means, and wherein said well bottom of said one or more meshwells touches a well bottom of said one or more solution-containing wells. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A method of making a Meshwell plate, comprising the steps of:
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removing well bottoms of a PCR plate, thereby producing wells with open bottoms;
melting said open bottoms by applying said PCR plate with even pressure onto a hot flat surface for about a second;
applying said open bottoms with even pressure onto a mesh material laying on a cool flat surface such that said mesh material anneals onto said open bottoms, said mesh material allowing drainage of aqueous solutions without requiring a vacuum or any sucking means; and
removing excess mesh material from between said wells, thereby producing meshwells suitable for simultaneously processing a plurality of small organisms or tissue samples. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification