Apparatus for regulating the temperature of a biological and/or chemical sample and method of using the same

• US 20070196237A1
• Filed: 02/17/2006
• Published: 08/23/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 02/17/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Agency For Science Technology and Research
• Original Assignee: Agency For Science Technology and Research
• Inventors: Neuzil, Pavel, Hsieh, Tseng-Ming, Pipper, Juergen
• Granted Patent: US 8,124,033 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 422/67
• CPC Class Codes: B01J 2219/00495 Means for heating or cooling the reaction vessels
• CPC Class Codes: B01L 2200/147 Employing temperature sensors
• CPC Class Codes: B01L 2300/0819 Microarrays; Biochips
• CPC Class Codes: B01L 2300/1822 using Peltier elements
• CPC Class Codes: B01L 2300/1827 using resistive heater
• CPC Class Codes: B01L 3/5027 by integrated microfluidic structures, i.e. dimensions of channels and chambers are such that surface tension forces are important, e.g. lab-on-a-chip B01L3/5023 takes precedence; micromixers B01F33/30; microreactors for synthesis B01J19/0093; microcapillary devices in general B81B1/00
• CPC Class Codes: B01L 3/50851 specially adapted for heating or cooling samples laboratory heating apparatus B01L7/00; incubators C12M
• CPC Class Codes: B01L 3/5088 confining liquids at a location by surface tension, e.g. virtual wells on plates, wires B01L3/50857 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: B01L 7/52 with provision for submitting samples to a predetermined sequence of different temperatures, e.g. for treating nucleic acid samples amplification or hybridisation processes per se C12Q1/68; controlling sequential reactions for synthesis B01J19/0046
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 21/0332 with temperature control control of temperature G05D23/00; cryostats F17C3/08
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 25/18 by investigating thermal conductivity by calorimetry G01N25/20; by measuring change of resistance of an electrically-heated body G01N27/18

Abstract

The invention provides an apparatus for regulating the temperature of a chemical and/or biological sample and a method of using the same. The apparatus includes at least one temperature control module. The temperature control module includes a heater, a conductor of caloric, and a temperature sensor. The heater of the temperature control module is adapted to thermally communicate with a removable substrate, on which said chemical and/or biological sample is placed, via the conductor of caloric. The temperature sensor of the temperature control module is adapted to detect and control the temperature of the substrate via the conductor of caloric. The apparatus is designed such that the substrate is situated above said temperature control module to entirely cover said temperature control module.

Claims

1. An apparatus for regulating the temperature of a chemical and/or biological sample, comprising at least one temperature control module, wherein said temperature control module comprises a heater, a conductor of caloric, and a temperature sensor,

wherein said heater is adapted to thermally communicate with a removable substrate, on which said chemical and/or biological sample is placed, via the conductor of caloric,

wherein said temperature sensor is adapted to detect and control the temperature of said substrate via the conductor of caloric, and

wherein said apparatus is designed such that said substrate is situated above said temperature control module to entirely cover said temperature control module.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said heater comprises a surface that is arranged essentially parallel to the plane of said substrate, on which plane of the substrate the sample is placed.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said sensor comprises a surface that is arranged essentially parallel to the plane of said substrate, on which plane of the substrate the sample is placed.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said heater and said sensor each comprise a surface arranged in a common plane, wherein said plane is essentially parallel to the plane of said substrate, on which plane of the substrate the sample is placed.

5. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein each the heater and the sensor are concentric.

6. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the heater surrounds the sensor.

7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said conductor of caloric comprises a material selected from the group consisting of a metal, a semiconductor, a diamond, a carbon nanotube and a fullerene compound.

8. The apparatus of claim 1, comprising at least two temperature control modules, wherein the at least two temperature control modules are thermally isolated from each other.

9. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the at least two temperature control modules comprise each a surface arranged in a common plane, which is essentially parallel to the plane of said substrate, on which plane of the substrate the sample is placed.

10. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein said two temperature control modules are opposing each other in said plane that is essentially parallel to the plane of said substrate, on which plane of the substrate the sample is placed.

11. The apparatus of claim 10, comprising two pairs of temperature control modules, wherein the two temperature control modules of each pair are opposing each other in said plane that is essentially parallel to the plane of said substrate, on which plane of the substrate the sample is placed.

12. The apparatus of claim 8, comprising a plurality of temperature control modules.

13. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein each temperature control module is thermally isolated from every other temperature control module.

14. A method of regulating the temperature of a chemical and/or biological sample, comprising:

providing an apparatus for regulating the temperature of a chemical and/or biological sample, said apparatus comprising at least one temperature control module, wherein said temperature control module comprises a heater, a conductor of caloric, and a temperature sensor,

wherein said heater is adapted to thermally communicate with a removable substrate, on which said chemical and/or biological sample is placed, via the conductor of caloric,

wherein said temperature sensor is adapted to detect and control the temperature of said substrate via the conductor of caloric, and

wherein said apparatus is designed such that said substrate is situated above said temperature control module to entirely cover said temperature control module

providing a temperature value for heating said chemical and/or biological sample,

measuring the temperature of said conductor of caloric by means of said temperature sensor,

applying heat to said conductor of caloric as long as the measured temperature is below the provided temperature value, thereby heating said substrate and said chemical and/or biological sample.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein said chemical and/or biological sample is comprised in a liquid droplet.

16. The method of claim 14, wherein said apparatus for regulating the temperature of a chemical and/or biological sample comprising at least two temperature control modules, wherein the at least two temperature control modules are thermally isolated from each other.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein an individual temperature value is provided for heating the chemical and/or biological sample at each temperature control module, and

wherein the temperature of the conductor of caloric of each temperature control module is measured individually by means of said temperature sensor of each temperature control module, and

wherein heat is applied to the conductor of caloric of each temperature control module as long as the measured temperature is below the provided temperature value, thereby heating each substrate and said chemical and/or biological sample individually.

18. The method of claim 14, wherein providing an apparatus for regulating the temperature of a chemical and/or biological sample comprises:

providing a substrate,

disposing said substrate above said temperature control module, such that it entirely covers the same,

providing a chemical and/or biological sample, and

disposing said chemical and/or biological sample onto said substrate.

19. The method of claim 14, wherein the sample is selected from the group consisting of a soil sample, an air sample, an environmental sample, a cell culture sample, a bone marrow sample, a rainfall sample, a fallout sample, a space sample, an extraterrestrial sample, a sewage sample, a ground water sample, an abrasion sample, an archaeological sample, a food sample, a blood sample, a serum sample, a plasma sample, a urine sample, a stool sample, a semen sample, a lymphatic fluid sample, a cerebrospinal fluid sample, a naspharyngeal wash sample, a sputum sample, a mouth swab sample, a throat swab sample, a nasal swab sample, a bronchoalveolar lavage sample, a bronchial secretion sample, a milk sample, an amniotic fluid sample, a biopsy sample, a nail sample, a hair sample, a skin sample, a cancer sample, a tumour sample, a tissue sample, a cell sample, a cell lysate sample, a virus culture sample, a forensic sample, an infection sample, a nosocomial infection sample, a production sample, a drug preparation sample, a biological molecule production sample, a protein preparation sample, a lipid preparation sample, a carbohydrate preparation sample, a solution of a nucleotide, a solution of polynucleotide, a solution of a nucleic acid, a solution of a peptide, a solution of a polypeptide, a solution of an amino acid, a solution of a protein, a solution of a synthetic polymer, a solution of a biochemical composition, a solution of an organic chemical composition, a solution of an inorganic chemical composition, a solution of a lipid, a solution of a carbohydrate, a solution of a combinatory chemistry product, a solution of a drug candidate molecule, a solution of a drug molecule, a solution of a drug metabolite, a suspension of a cell, a suspension of a virus, a suspension of a microorganism, a suspension of a metal, a suspension of metal alloy, a solution of a metal ion, and any combination thereof.

20. The method of claim 14, wherein heating the chemical and/or biological sample includes carrying out a chemical and/or biological process.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein the sample includes a nucleic acid molecule and the chemical and/or biological process is a polymerase chain reaction.