AUTOMATED DEVELOPER FOR IMMUNO-STAINED BIOLOGICAL SAMPLES

• US 20140154151A1
• Filed: 02/05/2014
• Published: 06/05/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 12/22/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated
• Inventors: Emery, Michael P., Wallace, Matthew C., Sinclair, James E., Gonzales, Raymond J., Grot, Brian, Magavi, Sanjay Shivayogi
• Granted Patent: US 9,250,164 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 422/509
• CPC Class Codes: B01L 2200/147 Employing temperature sensors
• CPC Class Codes: B01L 2200/16 Reagents, handling or storing thereof
• CPC Class Codes: B01L 2300/1822 using Peltier elements
• CPC Class Codes: B01L 2400/0487 fluid pressure, pneumatics
• CPC Class Codes: B01L 3/0217 of the plunger pump type medical syringes A61M
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 1/30 Staining; Impregnating ; Fixation; Dehydration; Multistep processes for preparing samples of tissue, cell or nucleic acid material and the like for analysis
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 1/31 Apparatus therefor
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 2035/00425 Heating or cooling means associated with pipettes or the like, e.g. for supplying sample/reagent at given temperature
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 27/44721 by optical means
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 33/54366 Apparatus specially adapted for solid-phase testing
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 35/00029 provided with flat sample substrates, e.g. slides G01N35/028 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 35/10 Devices for transferring samples or any liquids to, in, or from, the analysis apparatus, e.g. suction devices, injection devices G01N35/0099 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 436/2575 Volumetric liquid transfer

Abstract

Disclosed herein are systems and methods for the developing of immuno-stained biological samples. The systems disclosed herein are automated and are configured to control one or more steps of the developing procedure. Reagents may be added using automatic syringe dispensing. Reagent temperature, reagent stirring, and wash procedures are programmable and can be separately controlled for separate immuno-staining procedures that are performed at the same time.

Claims

1. An automated developer for immuno-stained biological samples, comprising:

a processor controlled rocking platform;

a processor controlled syringe pusher;

a processor controlled buffer pump;

wherein the processor is configured to control addition of antibody reagent to an incubation box by controlling the syringe pusher, and is configured to control addition of buffer the incubation box by controlling the buffer pump.

2. The automated developer of claim 1, wherein the processor is coupled to a user interface for programming operational timing of the syringe pusher and buffer pump.

3. The automated developer of claim 1 further comprising a syringe housing.

4. The automated developer of claim 3 further comprising a processor controlled temperature control feature, wherein the processor is configured to control the temperature of a reagent.

5. The automated developer of claim 4, wherein the temperature control feature is configured to control the temperature of a reagent within the syringe housing.

6. The automated developer of claim 3 further comprising a processor controlled stirrer, wherein the processor is configured to control the speed and timing of the processor controlled stirrer.

7. The automated developer of claim 6, wherein the processor controlled stirrer comprises a magnetic stirrer and a magnetic field generator, wherein the magnetic field generator is located in the syringe housing, and is configured to control the magnetic stirrer when the magnetic stirrer is located within a syringe located in the syringe housing.

8. The automated developer of claim 1, wherein the incubation box is connected to the rocking platform, and wherein the processor is configured to agitate the incubation box by controlling the rocking of the rocking platform.

9. The automated developer of claim 1, wherein the processor is configured to control the duration and the intensity of the rocking of the rocking platform.

10. The automated developer of claim 1, wherein the incubation box comprises a waste port in fluid communication with a processor controlled pump, wherein the processor is configured to control flow out of the incubation box and through the waste port.