DETECTION AND MIXING IN A CONDUIT IN INTEGRATED BIOANALYSIS SYSTEMS

• US 20090017554A1
• Filed: 06/30/2008
• Published: 01/15/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 06/28/2007
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Applied Biosystems LLC (Thermo Fisher Scientific Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Applera Corporation (Thermo Fisher Scientific Incorporated)
• Inventors: Vann, Charles S.
• Application Number:
  US12/165,551
• Publication Number:
  US 20090017554A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 436/172
• CPC Class Codes: B01F 23/49 Mixing systems, i.e. flow charts or diagrams
• CPC Class Codes: B01F 31/65 the materials to be mixed being directly submitted to a pulsating movement, e.g. by means of an oscillating piston or air column
• CPC Class Codes: B01F 31/651 Mixing by successively aspirating a part of the mixture in a conduit, e.g. a piston, and reinjecting it through the same conduit into the receptacle
• CPC Class Codes: B01L 2200/0673 Handling of plugs of fluid surrounded by immiscible fluid
• CPC Class Codes: B01L 2300/0654 Lenses; Optical fibres
• CPC Class Codes: B01L 2300/0832 cylindrical, tube shaped
• CPC Class Codes: B01L 2300/1805 Conductive heating, heat from thermostatted solids is conducted to receptacles, e.g. heating plates, blocks
• CPC Class Codes: B01L 2400/0478 pistons
• CPC Class Codes: B01L 3/0217 of the plunger pump type medical syringes A61M
• CPC Class Codes: B01L 3/022 Capillary pipettes, i.e. having very small bore B01L3/0224 - B01L3/0237 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: B01L 3/502784 specially adapted for droplet or plug flow, e.g. digital microfluidics automatic analysis using a stream of discrete samples in a tube system G01N35/08
• CPC Class Codes: B01L 7/525 with physical movement of samples between temperature zones
• CPC Class Codes: C12Q 1/686 Polymerase chain reaction [PCR]
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 2035/1046 Levitated, suspended drops
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 2035/1062 for testing the liquid while it is in the transfer device
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 21/64 Fluorescence; Phosphorescence
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 21/76 Chemiluminescence; Bioluminescence
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 35/1065 Multiple transfer devices

Abstract

Apparatuses and methods in which detection is integrated with various liquid processing and environmental control functions to create integrated bioanalysis systems are disclosed. Though the various integrated bioanalysis systems are useful for any number of analysis formats, they are adaptable to high-throughput processing of samples.

Claims

1. A method for luminescent detection comprising:

providing a first conduit having a first end and a second end, said second end in fluid communication with fluid control means;

forming with the fluid control means a pendant drop at the first end of the first conduit;

selecting at least one excitation source, the at least one excitation source positioned proximal to the pendant drop, thereby creating at least one selected excitation source;

illuminating the pendant drop with the at least one selected excitation source to excite chemical or biochemical species present in the pendant drop; and

detecting with a detection system light emitted from excited chemical or biochemical species present in the pendant drop.

2. The method for luminescent detection of claim 1 wherein the light emitted is fluorescence.

3. The method for luminescent detection of claim 1 wherein the light emitted is phosphorescence.

4. The method for luminescent detection of claim 1 wherein the light emitted is chemiluminescence.

5. The method of luminescent detection of claim 1, further comprising:

thermocycling a liquid aliquot in the first conduit to produce chemical or biochemical species therein prior to forming the pendant drop with the liquid aliquot.

6. The method of luminescent detection of claim 1, further comprising:

amplifying targeted nucleic acid species within a liquid aliquot in the first conduit prior to forming the pendant drop with the liquid aliquot.

7. A method for mixing liquids in a conduit, the method comprising:

drawing a first liquid slug into a first conduit having a first bore;

drawing a second liquid slug into the first conduit having the first bore, such that the first and second liquid slugs are initially separated by a segment of a fluid that is immiscible with both the liquid of the first liquid slug and the liquid of the second liquid slug;

drawing the first and second liquid slug through the first bore into a second bore that is wider than the first bore until the first liquid slug and the second liquid slug contact each other and mix to form a third, mixed liquid slug; and

moving the third, mixed liquid slug into the first bore.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the second bore is in the first conduit.

9. The method of claim 7, wherein the second bore is in a piston housing coupled to the first conduit.

10. The method of claim 7, further comprising:

drawing the third, mixed liquid slug into the second bore and subsequently moving the third, mixed liquid slug into the first bore.

11. An apparatus comprising:

a first conduit having a first end and a second end, the second end in fluid communication with fluid control means, wherein the fluid control means is capable of forming a pendant drop at the first end of the first conduit;

at least one excitation source proximal to the first end of the first conduit, wherein the pendant drop at the first end of the first conduit is illuminated by the excitation source; and

a detection system, wherein light emitted from the pendant drop is detected by the detection system.