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Integral biomolecule preparation device

  • US 5,389,339 A
  • Filed: 08/19/1992
  • Issued: 02/14/1995
  • Est. Priority Date: 05/01/1990
  • Status: Expired due to Term
First Claim
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1. A self-contained biomolecule preparation device for automatically preparing biomolecules such as nucleic acid from samples such as cell samples, comprising:

  • a plurality of samples tubes contained in a rotor for holding chemical compounds in liquid or solid form;

    a plurality of pipet tips to withdraw and dispense controlled amounts of fluid contained in said plurality of sample tubes;

    a centrifuge, containing the rotor, for spinning said plurality of samples tubes in said rotor at predetermined times;

    a pipet tip rack, separate from the centrifuge and the rotor, for holding said plurality of pipet tips, each of said tips associated with and substantially parallel to one of said sample tubes in the rotor of said centrifuge;

    means for maintaining a predetermined relationship between the pipet tips in said tip rack and the sample tubes in the rotor;

    a pipet arm assembly, proximate said pipet tip rack and the rotor of said centrifuge, including a pipet tip handling mandrel, driven to move in two dimensions by a motorized mechanism, for selectively removing pipet tips from said pipet tip rack, inserting them into the sample tubes in the rotor of said centrifuge, and returning the selected pipet tip back to the tip rack for further use, said arm assembly responsive to said means for maintaining so that the pipet tip selected for removal remains associated with the sample tube in which the pipet tip is to be inserted;

    a plurality of reagent reservoirs, proximate said sample tubes, for holding biomolecule preparation reagents;

    reagent adding means for selectively adding controlled amounts of the reagents from said reservoirs to said sample tubes at predetermined times;

    mixing means for mixing the sample tube contents at predetermined times;

    fluid withdrawal means for withdrawing fluid from a sample tube into an inserted pipet tip at predetermined times; and

    process control means for controlling the operation, including the integrated sequence of operations, of said centrifuge, said pipet arm, said reagent adding means, said mixing means and said fluid withdrawal means.

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