System and apparatus for sequential processing of analytes
First Claim
1. A method for multistep processing of a plurality of analytes, the method comprising:
- disposing a population of microparticles, of which at least a plurality have an analyte anchored thereto, in a planar array within a flow chamber;
delivering processing reagents to the flow chamber, such that said analytes are exposed to the processing reagents, for each of a series of processing steps;
for each said processing step, detecting and recording an optical signal from each microparticle of the plurality, to produce a sequence of optical signals for each microparticle;
tracking the positions of said microparticles within the array during said processing steps; and
correlating said sequences of optical signals with said positions.
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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
5 Claims
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1. A method for multistep processing of a plurality of analytes, the method comprising:
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disposing a population of microparticles, of which at least a plurality have an analyte anchored thereto, in a planar array within a flow chamber;
delivering processing reagents to the flow chamber, such that said analytes are exposed to the processing reagents, for each of a series of processing steps;
for each said processing step, detecting and recording an optical signal from each microparticle of the plurality, to produce a sequence of optical signals for each microparticle;
tracking the positions of said microparticles within the array during said processing steps; and
correlating said sequences of optical signals with said positions. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5)
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Specification