BARRIERS FOR FACILITATING BIOLOGICAL REACTIONS

• US 20090246782A1
• Filed: 02/27/2009
• Published: 10/01/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 02/29/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Northwestern University
• Original Assignee: Northwestern University
• Inventors: Sur, Kunal, Parpia, Zaheer, Kelso, David M.
• Granted Patent: US 8,187,808 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 435/6
• CPC Class Codes: B01L 2200/04 Exchange or ejection of cartridges, containers or reservoirs
• CPC Class Codes: B01L 2200/0647 Handling flowable solids, e.g. microscopic beads, cells, particles
• CPC Class Codes: B01L 2200/10 Integrating sample preparation and analysis in single entity, e.g. lab-on-a-chip concept
• CPC Class Codes: B01L 2200/16 Reagents, handling or storing thereof
• CPC Class Codes: B01L 2300/087 Multiple sequential chambers
• CPC Class Codes: B01L 2400/043 magnetic forces
• CPC Class Codes: B01L 2400/0677 phase change valves; Meltable, freezing, dissolvable plugs; Destructible barriers
• CPC Class Codes: B01L 3/502761 specially adapted for handling suspended solids or molecules independently from the bulk fluid flow, e.g. for trapping or sorting beads, for physically stretching molecules investigating characteristics of particles G01N15/00
• CPC Class Codes: B01L 3/50851 specially adapted for heating or cooling samples laboratory heating apparatus B01L7/00; incubators C12M
• CPC Class Codes: B01L 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 33/54366 Apparatus specially adapted for solid-phase testing
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 33/54393 Improving reaction conditions or stability, e.g. by coating or irradiation of surface, by reduction of non-specific binding, by promotion of specific binding
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 436/25375 Liberation or purification of sample or separation of material from a sample [e.g., filtering, centrifuging, etc.]

Abstract

The present invention relates to systems, devices, and methods for performing biological reactions. In particular, the present invention relates to the use of lipophilic, water immiscible, or hydrophobic barriers in sample separation, purification, modification, and analysis processes.

Claims

1. A biological sample processing device, comprising:

a) two or more sample processing chambers comprising sample processing reagents; and

b) a water and alcohol immiscible, hydrophobic, or lipophilic material between at least two of said two or more sample processing, such that a sample moves through said material when moved between the first and second processing chambers.

2. The device of claim 1, having three or more sample processing chambers separated by said material.

3. The device of claim 1, having four or more sample processing chambers separated by said material.

4. The device of claim 1, having five or more sample processing chambers separated by said material.

5. The device of claim 1, wherein each of said sample processing chamber comprises a sample purification reagent.

6. The device of claim 1, wherein said sample processing chambers are selected from the group consisting of sample purification chambers comprising sample purification reagent, sample analysis chambers comprising sample analysis reagents and a mixture of sample purification and sample analysis chambers.

7. The device of claim 1, wherein said lipophilic substance is a wax.

8. The device of claim 1, wherein said lipophilic substance is an oil.

9. The device of claim 1, further comprising a magnet positioned to move magnetic particles from said sample purification chambers to said sample analysis chambers.

10. The device of claim 1, wherein said device comprises a vapor barrier.

11. The device of claim 1, wherein said device comprises an aluminum foil layer sandwiched between plastic layers.

12. A system, comprising:

a) a biological sample processing device, comprising;

two or more sample processing chambers comprising sample processing reagents, and a water and alcohol immiscible, hydrophobic, or lipophilic material between said at least two of said sample processing chambers; and

b) a sample transport component configured to transport at least a portion of a sample between and among said sample processing chambers.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein said sample transport component comprises a magnet.

14. The system of claim 12, further comprising a sample detection component.

15. A method of processing biological samples, comprising:

a) placing a sample in a first chamber;

said first chamber comprising first processing reagents to generate a processed sample;

b) moving said processed sample through a water and alcohol immiscible, hydrophobic, or lipophilic barrier to a second chamber;

c) treating said processed sample in said second chamber with second processing reagents to generated a further processed sample.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein said first and/or second processing reagents are purification reagents.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein said first reagent is a capture reagent and said second reagent is a wash reagent.

18. The method of claim 16, wherein said first reagent is a purification reagent and said second reagent is an analysis reagent.

19. The method of claim 15, wherein said purified sample comprises said biological molecule associated with a magnetic particle.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein said moving comprising use of a magnet to pull said magnetic particle from said first chamber, into said barrier, and then into said second chamber.

21. The method of claim 15, wherein said biological molecule is intact cells, RNA, DNA, or protein.

22. The method of claim 15, wherein the purified sample is moved to one or more additional chambers prior to being moved to said second chamber.

23. The method of claim 22, wherein said one or more additional chambers comprise wash reagents.

24. The method of claim 15, wherein said second processing reagents comprise nucleic acid amplification reagents.

25. The method of claim 15, wherein said second processing reagents comprise nucleic acid detection reagents.

26. The method of claim 15, wherein said second processing reagents comprise polypeptide detection reagents.