BIOLOGICAL SAMPLE TEMPERATURE CONTROL SYSTEM AND METHOD
First Claim
1. A system for analyzing biological samples, comprising:
- a support for a biological sample;
a thermoelectric heat exchange device disposed adjacent to the support and configured to introduce heat into or extract heat from the biological sample; and
a fluid circulating heat exchange device disposed adjacent to the thermoelectric heat exchange device and configured to introduce heat into or extract heat from the thermoelectric heat exchange device.
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Accused Products
Abstract
The present invention provides a novel approach for controlling the temperature of biological samples on a support structure. The support structure may, for instance, be a flow cell through which a reagent fluid is allowed to flow and interact with biological samples. A thermoelectric heat exchange device, such as a Peltier device, may be used to heat or cool the biological samples on the support structure. In addition, a fluid circulating heat exchange device, such as a water heating or cooling system, may be used to heat or cool the thermoelectric heat exchange device. In general, the support structure may be located on top of the thermoelectric heat exchange device which, in turn, may be located on top of the fluid circulating heat exchange device. The thermoelectric heat exchange device and fluid circulating heat exchange device may be integrated into a holder bench which may be part of a station within an imaging processing system. The holder bench may be configured to hold multiple support structures at a time. In addition, the support structures may be configured to be evaluated and imaged using both epifluorescent and total internal reflection (TIRF) excitation techniques.
76 Citations
20 Claims
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1. A system for analyzing biological samples, comprising:
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a support for a biological sample; a thermoelectric heat exchange device disposed adjacent to the support and configured to introduce heat into or extract heat from the biological sample; and a fluid circulating heat exchange device disposed adjacent to the thermoelectric heat exchange device and configured to introduce heat into or extract heat from the thermoelectric heat exchange device. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. A method for analyzing biological samples, comprising:
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providing a biological sample disposed adjacent to a support; cooling or heating the biological sample via a thermoelectric heat exchange device disposed adjacent to the support; and cooling or heating the thermoelectric heat exchange device via a fluid circulating heat exchange device disposed adjacent to the thermoelectric heat exchange device. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. A system for analyzing biological samples, comprising:
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a support for a biological sample; a thermoelectric heat exchange device disposed adjacent to the support and configured to introduce heat into or extract heat from the biological sample; a fluid circulating heat exchange device disposed adjacent to the thermoelectric heat exchange device; and a subplate disposed adjacent to the fluid circulating heat exchange device; wherein the fluid circulating heat exchange device is configured to maintain the temperature of the subplate at a substantially constant temperature. - View Dependent Claims (20)
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Specification