ACOUSTICALLY MEDIATED FLUID TRANSFER METHODS AND USES THEREOF
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Accused Products
Abstract
Acoustic waves are used to transfer small amounts of fluid in a non-contact manner. Acoustic waves are propagated through a pool of a source fluid in such a manner that causes the ejection of a single micro-droplet from the surface of the pool. The droplet is ejected towards a target with sufficient force to provide for contact of the droplet with the target. Because the fluid is not contacted by any fluid transfer device such as a pipette, the opportunities for contamination are minimized. Methods may be employed to transfer fluids from an array of source sites to an array of target sites, thereby enabling the precise automation of a wide variety of procedures including screening and synthesis procedures commonly used in biotechnology.
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Citations
166 Claims
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1-57. -57. (canceled)
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58. :
- A method for preparing an array comprised of a plurality of peptidic molecules attached to a substrate surface, the method comprising applying focused acoustic energy to each of a plurality of reservoirs each containing a peptidic molecule in a fluid, wherein the focused acoustic energy is applied in a manner effective to eject a droplet from each reservoir toward a different site on a substrate surface.
- View Dependent Claims (59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 81, 82, 83)
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68. :
- A method for preparing a peptide array comprised of a plurality of peptidic molecules attached to a substrate surface, the method comprising;
(a) acoustically coupling a first reservoir containing a first peptidic molecule in a first fluid to an ejector that produces acoustic radiation;
(b) activating the ejector to generate acoustic radiation having a focal point sufficiently near the surface of the first fluid so as to eject a droplet thereof toward a first designated site on the substrate surface;
(c) acoustically coupling a second reservoir containing a second peptidic molecule in a second fluid to the ejector;
(d) activating the ejector as in step (b) to eject a droplet of the second fluid from the second reservoir toward a second designated site on the substrate surface; and
(e) repeating steps (c) and (d) with additional reservoirs each containing a peptidic molecule in a fluid until a droplet has been ejected from each reservoir. - View Dependent Claims (69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80)
- A method for preparing a peptide array comprised of a plurality of peptidic molecules attached to a substrate surface, the method comprising;
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84. :
- A peptide array comprised of a plurality of peptidic molecules each attached through an optional linking moiety to a different site on a substrate surface, wherein each of the peptidic molecules is deposited onto the substrate surface using focused acoustic energy.
- View Dependent Claims (86, 87, 88, 89, 90, 91, 92, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98, 99, 100, 101, 102, 103)
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85. :
- A peptide array comprised of a plurality of peptidic molecules each attached through an optional linking moiety to a different site on a substrate surface, wherein substantially none of the peptidic molecules exhibits signs of shear stress and substantially all of the peptidic molecules are intact.
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104. :
- A peptide array comprised of a plurality of peptidic molecules each attached through an optional linking moiety to a different site on a porous substrate surface, wherein each of the peptidic molecules is deposited onto the substrate surface using focused acoustic energy.
- View Dependent Claims (106, 107, 108, 109, 110, 111, 112, 113, 114)
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105. :
- A peptide array comprised of a plurality of peptidic molecules each attached through an optional linking moiety to a different site on a porous substrate surface, wherein said plurality comprises more than a thousand peptidic molecules.
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115. :
- A device for acoustically ejecting a droplet of fluid from each of a plurality of fluid reservoirs, comprising;
a plurality of reservoirs each adapted to contain a fluid;
an acoustic ejector comprising an acoustic radiation generator for generating acoustic radiation and a focusing means for focusing the acoustic radiation generated; and
a means for positioning the acoustic ejector in acoustic coupling relationship to each of the reservoirs. - View Dependent Claims (116, 117, 118, 119, 120, 121, 122, 123, 124, 125, 126, 127, 128, 129, 130, 131, 132, 133, 134, 135, 136, 137)
- A device for acoustically ejecting a droplet of fluid from each of a plurality of fluid reservoirs, comprising;
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138. :
- A method for generating an array of chemical entities on the surface of a substrate, the method comprising applying focused acoustic energy to each of a plurality of reservoirs each containing a chemical entity in a fluid, wherein the focused acoustic energy is applied using a single ejector comprised of an acoustic radiation generator and a focusing means, in a manner effective to eject a droplet from each reservoir toward a site on the surface of the substrate such that the chemical entity in each droplet attaches thereto.
- View Dependent Claims (139, 140, 141, 142, 143, 144, 145, 146)
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147. :
- A method for preparing an array of chemical entities attached to the surface of a substrate, the method comprising;
(a) acoustically coupling a first reservoir containing a first chemical entity in a first fluid to an ejector that produces acoustic radiation;
(b) activating the ejector to generate acoustic radiation having a focal point sufficiently near the surface of the first fluid so as to eject a droplet thereof toward a first site on the substrate surface;
(c) acoustically coupling a second reservoir containing a second chemical entity in a second fluid to the ejector;
(d) activating the ejector as in step (b) to eject a droplet of the second fluid from the second reservoir toward a second site on the substrate surface; and
(e) repeating steps (c) and (d) with additional reservoirs each containing a chemical entity in a fluid until a droplet has been ejected from each reservoir, wherein steps (b) and (d) result in attachment of the chemical entity in each droplet to the surface of the substrate. - View Dependent Claims (148, 149, 150, 151, 152, 153, 154, 155, 156, 157, 158, 159, 160, 161, 162)
- A method for preparing an array of chemical entities attached to the surface of a substrate, the method comprising;
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163. :
- A biomolecular array comprising an array of a plurality of biomolecules on a substrate surface divided into a plurality of discrete surface sites, each site containing one biomolecule attached to the substrate surface in a localized region within the site, wherein the biomolecules are deposited onto the substrate surface in droplets having diameters in the range of about 1 micrometer to about 10,000 micrometers.
- View Dependent Claims (164)
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165. :
- A biomolecular array comprising an array of a plurality of biomolecules on a substrate surface divided into a plurality of discrete surface sites, each site containing one biomolecule attached to the substrate surface in a localized region within the site, wherein more than one thousand biomolecules are deposited onto the substrate surface, said substrate comprising a microscope slide.
- View Dependent Claims (166)
Specification