Apparatus for blot screening numerous, small volume, antibody solutions
First Claim
1. An apparatus for use in blot screening antibody-type material by simultaneously reacting a substantial number of very small volume liquid samples of such material arranged in a stripe-like pattern with a transversely arranged antigen pattern carried upon a paper-like membrane, comprising:
- a base plate having an upper, flat support surface, and a cover plate having a lower, flat cover surface overlapping the base plate support surface;
manually releasable fasteners clamping the plate overlapping surfaces together;
a thin, resilient cushion support sheet positioned between and substantially covering the plate surfaces in face-to-face contact with the base plate support surface;
an array of a substantial number of parallel, closely spaced, elongated, shallow and very narrow, downwardly opening channels formed in the cover plate support surface separated by stripe-like portions;
each channel having at least one small filling hole extending through the cover plate for conveying a sample of a liquid material into the channel;
a membrane removably positioned upon said cushion sheet and arranged in face-to-face contact with the cover plate surface so that the membrane closes the channel openings, said membrane being adapted for screening samples of liquid materials;
and said resilient support sheet being resiliently compressed against the base plate support surface between the channels by the stripe-like portions of the cover plate surface that are located between the adjacent pair of channels and the cushion support sheet resiliently bulging upwardly at the channel openings and thereby bulging the stripe-like portions of the membrane into the channels for forming inwardly extending, dome-like in cross-section, bottom walls for the channels which walls simultaneously reduce the interior volumes of the channels and increase the membrane surface area exposed to liquids contained within the channels;
wherein a sample of a liquid material may be introduced within at least one of the channels and another sample of a different liquid material may be introduced within at least one of the other channels, with the portions of the membrane surface area being bulged by the resilient support sheet into the channels to close the bottom of each respective channel, reduce the volume of each respective channel by extending into each respective channel and substantially prevent leakage of sample between adjacent channels.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A cover plate, having a lower, flat surface containing an array of numerous, parallel, closely spaced apart, downwardly opening channels, is releasably clamped upon a flat support plate surface. The channels each have inlet and outlet holes communicating with the upper surface of the cover plate. A paper-like, resilient cushion sheet is clamped between the plate surfaces and a paper-like membrane, carrying a pattern of antigen-like material, is arranged between the sheet and the cover plate channeled surface. The channels are very narrow, shallow and many times longer than their widths and are closed by the stripe-like portions of the membrane which overlie the channels. The cushion sheet is compressed between adjacent channels and bulges upwardly at each of the channels to thereby bulge the membrane stripe-like portions into dome-shaped cross-sections extending into the channels. This reduces the volumes of the channels and increases the surface areas of the membrane stripe-like portions that are exposed within the channels. Numerous drop-size samples of antibody-type solutions are inserted into the channels through channel inlet holes, that extend through the cover plate, for reacting with the material carried on the stripe-like portions of the membrane. A removable manifold having a pair of elongated grooves may be temporarily applied upon the cover plate so that the grooves overlie all of the channel inlet holes and all of the channel outlet holes for rapidly, simultaneously filling and draining all the channels.
142 Citations
19 Claims
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1. An apparatus for use in blot screening antibody-type material by simultaneously reacting a substantial number of very small volume liquid samples of such material arranged in a stripe-like pattern with a transversely arranged antigen pattern carried upon a paper-like membrane, comprising:
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a base plate having an upper, flat support surface, and a cover plate having a lower, flat cover surface overlapping the base plate support surface; manually releasable fasteners clamping the plate overlapping surfaces together; a thin, resilient cushion support sheet positioned between and substantially covering the plate surfaces in face-to-face contact with the base plate support surface; an array of a substantial number of parallel, closely spaced, elongated, shallow and very narrow, downwardly opening channels formed in the cover plate support surface separated by stripe-like portions; each channel having at least one small filling hole extending through the cover plate for conveying a sample of a liquid material into the channel; a membrane removably positioned upon said cushion sheet and arranged in face-to-face contact with the cover plate surface so that the membrane closes the channel openings, said membrane being adapted for screening samples of liquid materials; and said resilient support sheet being resiliently compressed against the base plate support surface between the channels by the stripe-like portions of the cover plate surface that are located between the adjacent pair of channels and the cushion support sheet resiliently bulging upwardly at the channel openings and thereby bulging the stripe-like portions of the membrane into the channels for forming inwardly extending, dome-like in cross-section, bottom walls for the channels which walls simultaneously reduce the interior volumes of the channels and increase the membrane surface area exposed to liquids contained within the channels; wherein a sample of a liquid material may be introduced within at least one of the channels and another sample of a different liquid material may be introduced within at least one of the other channels, with the portions of the membrane surface area being bulged by the resilient support sheet into the channels to close the bottom of each respective channel, reduce the volume of each respective channel by extending into each respective channel and substantially prevent leakage of sample between adjacent channels. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. An apparatus for use in blot screening solutions of antibody and the like materials by simultaneously, separately reacting a substantial number of microliter-size volume samples of such material with an antigen-like pattern carried upon a paper-like membrane, comprising:
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a base plate having a flat support surface and a cover plate having a lower, flat, cover surface overlapping the base plate support surface; manually operable screws extending through the cover plate into threaded openings in the base plate for manually releasably clamping the two plates together; an array of a substantial number of parallel, closely spaced, elongated, shallow, very narrow, downwardly opening channels formed in the cover plate lower surface separated by stripe-like portions; means defining holes extending through the cover plate for communicating each channel with the upper portion of the cover plate for conveying liquid specimens into and out of the channels; a thin, resilient, spongy cushion sheet positioned upon the base plate support surface beneath the channels, and a membrane removably positioned upon the cushion sheet and in face-to-face contact with the cover plate lower surface covering each of the downwardly extending openings of the channels; said membrane being adapted for screening samples of liquid materials; said cushion sheet being of a relatively low density so that it is characterized by having sufficient resiliency to be compressed between the cover plate areas located between adjacent channels, while resiliently bulging towards the channel openings so as to bulge the membrane into the channels considerably reducing the interior volume of the channels while increasing the membrane surface area which is exposed to liquids contained within each channel; wherein a sample of a liquid material may be introduced within at least one of the channels and another sample of a different material may be introduced within at least one of the other channels, with the membrane located at the channel openings bulged by the cushion sheet and exposed to the samples, whereby leakage between adjacent channels is substantially prevented. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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Specification