Immunoassay apparatus
First Claim
1. In apparatus for assaying a fluid sample and including a totally internally reflecting elongated substrate transmissive to radiation capable of providing an evanescent wave for exciting fluorescence in fluorescent material disposed at least on a portion of the surface of said substrate, said substrate also being transmissive to said fluorescence, and elongated means spaced from said surface of said substrate and constructed and arranged so as to define a hollow elongated enclosure surrounding said surface, and means coupled to one end of said substrate for mounting said substrate in a cantilevered position within said enclosure, the improvement whereinone end of said enclosure is covered with a first elbow having an aperture therein through which said substrate protrudes without contacting said first elbow,said apparatus including means for introducing a flow of fluid through said first elbow and into the interspace between said enclosure and said substrate.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An assay apparatus employing total internal reflection of excitation radiation at the interface between an optically conductive rod or fiber and a surrounding liquid phase of lower index of refraction. Immobilized on the surface of the fiber is a component of a complex formed in an immunochemical-type reaction; a fluorophore that can be excited into fluorescence by the excitation radiation is attached to another component of the complex. The fiber is coaxially mounted in cantelivered position within a length of tubing, so that the excitation radiation can be launched into the unsupported end of the fiber and the fluorescent radiation tunneling back into the fiber may be observed at the same fiber end. To insure that the portion of the fiber surface between the unsupported fiber end and the mounted end is in contact with only surrounding liquid phase, one end of the tubing is provided with a covering having an aperture therein through which at least the unsupported end of the fiber extends, the clearance between the internal periphery of the aperture and the fiber being of capillary dimensions so that the meniscus formed at such clearance will retain fluid in the interspace between the fiber and tube.
58 Citations
14 Claims
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1. In apparatus for assaying a fluid sample and including a totally internally reflecting elongated substrate transmissive to radiation capable of providing an evanescent wave for exciting fluorescence in fluorescent material disposed at least on a portion of the surface of said substrate, said substrate also being transmissive to said fluorescence, and elongated means spaced from said surface of said substrate and constructed and arranged so as to define a hollow elongated enclosure surrounding said surface, and means coupled to one end of said substrate for mounting said substrate in a cantilevered position within said enclosure, the improvement wherein
one end of said enclosure is covered with a first elbow having an aperture therein through which said substrate protrudes without contacting said first elbow, said apparatus including means for introducing a flow of fluid through said first elbow and into the interspace between said enclosure and said substrate.
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14. In apparatus for assaying a fluid sample and including a totally internally reflecting elongated substrate transmissive to radiation capable of providing an evanescent wave for exciting fluorescence in fluorescent material disposed at least on a portion of the surface of said substrate, said substrate also being transmissive to said fluorescence, and elongated means spaced from said surface of said substrate so as to define a hollow elongated enclosure surrounding said surface, and means coupled to one end of said substrate for mounting said substrate in a cantilevered position within said enclosure, the improvement wherein
said enclosure being covered at least at one end thereof with a cover having an aperture therein through which the other end of said substrate extends without contacting said cover, the clearance between said substrate and the internal periphery of said aperture being of capillary dimensions.
Specification