Apparatus for holding small volumes of liquids
First Claim
1. An apparatus for holding a liquid during assay, comprising a plate in which a plurality of adjacent wells are formed, each of said wells having (i) a bottom, (ii) at least one side wall, said side walls of adjacent wells intersecting so as to form an upward facing edge, and (iii) an opening for receiving a liquid, said openings of adjacent wells being separated by a boundary defined by said edge.
3 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
An apparatus for holding liquid, such as a microtiter plate, in which a plurality of wells are formed. Each of the wells have side walls that intersect in an edge that defines the boundary between adjacent wells. The edge boundary prevents liquid from collecting between the wells, thereby causing all of the liquid applied to the plate to enter one of the wells. The microtiter plate can be formed from a material having a reflectance and/or fluorescence that is optimized for the particular application in which the microtiter plate will be used. Microtiter plates for use in fluorescence measurement applications are made from material having low fluorescence, such as a liquid crystal polymer, while microtiter plates for use in luminescence measurements are made from material having a high reflectance. Microtiter plates for spectrophotometric applications are made with wells having clear bottoms and opaque walls. Such clear bottomed wells can be made by incorporating a photobleachable dye into the plate material so as to render it essentially opaque and then irradiating the bottoms of the wells so as to render them transparent. Such wells can also be made by forming the plate from an essentially transparent material and then irradiating the sidewalls with a beam of light so as to render them essentially opaque.
233 Citations
25 Claims
- 1. An apparatus for holding a liquid during assay, comprising a plate in which a plurality of adjacent wells are formed, each of said wells having (i) a bottom, (ii) at least one side wall, said side walls of adjacent wells intersecting so as to form an upward facing edge, and (iii) an opening for receiving a liquid, said openings of adjacent wells being separated by a boundary defined by said edge.
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24. A method of screening an agent for biological activity, comprising the steps of:
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a) suspending a plurality of beads in a solvent so as to form a bead containing suspension; b) pouring said suspension onto a plate having a plurality of microwells formed therein, each of said microwells having (i) a bottom, (ii) at least one side wall, said side walls of adjacent microwells intersecting so as to form an upward facing edge, and (iii) an opening for receiving said suspension, said openings of adjacent microwells being separated by a boundary defined by said edge, whereby a portion of said solvent enters each of said microwells; c) allowing said suspended beads to settle into said microwells so that each of said beads is suspended in said portion of said solvent in one of said microwells; d) removing said solvent; and e) applying said agent onto said plate.
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Specification