Assay work station

• US 6,254,826 B1
• Filed: 11/13/1998
• Issued: 07/03/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 11/14/1997
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Gen-Probe Incorporated (Hologic Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Gen-Probe Incorporated (Hologic Incorporated)
• Inventors: Bransky, Jeffrey D., Case, Robert, Shimei, Thomas M., Myers, Kristi K., Acosta, Galo F., Foster, Gregory J., Woodhead, Andrew J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Warden, Jill
• Assistant Examiner(s): Bex, Kathryn
• Application Number:
  US09/191,343
• Time in Patent Office: 963 Days
• Field of Search: 422/63, 422/65, 422/67, 422/81, 422/100, 422/104, 436/43, 436/47, 436/49, 436/54, 436/174, 436/180, 738/640.1, 738/641.1, 738/642.4, 738/642.5
• US Class Current: 422/65
• CPC Class Codes: B01L 2200/141 Preventing contamination, tampering
• CPC Class Codes: B01L 3/02 Burettes; Pipettes
• CPC Class Codes: B01L 3/0275 Interchangeable or disposable dispensing tips
• CPC Class Codes: B01L 9/523 for multisample carriers, e.g. used for microtitration plates
• CPC Class Codes: B01L 9/543 for disposable pipette tips, e.g. racks or cassettes
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 2035/103 using disposable tips
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 35/0098 involving analyte bound to insoluble magnetic carrier, e.g. using magnetic separation magnetic particles used in immunoassays G01N33/54326; magnetic separation in general B03C
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 35/026 having blocks or racks of reaction cells or cuvettes
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 35/028 having reaction cells in the form of microtitration plates
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 35/1065 Multiple transfer devices
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 436/11 Automated chemical analysis
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 436/113332 with conveyance of sample along a test line in a container or rack
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 436/114998 with treatment or replacement of aspirator element [e.g., cleaning, etc.]
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 436/119163 with aspirator of claimed structure
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 436/25 including sample preparation
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 436/2575 Volumetric liquid transfer

Abstract

A work station for simultaneously performing multiple assays includes a base structure, a receptacle rack assembly received within a receptacle rack well formed in the base structure, a pipette tip rack assembly received within a pipette tip rack well formed in the base structure, a multiple conduit substance transfer device, and substance transfer device positioning structure. The receptacle rack assembly holds a plurality of receptacles in which a plurality of individual assays are performed, and the pipette tip rack assembly holds a plurality of contamination limiting pipette tips. The substance transfer device is capable of simultaneously dispensing substances into two or more receptacles or simultaneously removing substances from two or more receptacles. Alternatively, the substance transfer device is capable of simultaneously dispensing substances into two or more receptacles, and, at about the same time, simultaneously removing substances from two or more receptacles. The positioning structure permits the substance transfer device to be positioned with respect to the receptacle rack assembly or the pipette tip rack assembly.

Claims

1. A work station for simultaneously performing multiple assays, said work station comprising:

(a) a receptacle holding structure constructed and arranged to hold each of a plurality of receptacles in one of a plurality of receptacle sets, each set including at least two receptacles;

(b) a substance transfer device constructed and arranged to operatively interact with the receptacles of at least two of the receptacle sets held in said receptacle holding structure to simultaneously dispense substance into each of the receptacles of a first receptacle set of the at least two receptacle sets and to simultaneously remove substance from each of the receptacles of a second receptacle set of the at least two receptacle sets, wherein said substance transfer device is constructed and arranged to simultaneously remove substance from each of the receptacles of the second receptacle set at about the same time that said substance transfer device is simultaneously dispensing substance into each of the receptacles of the first receptacle set; and

(c) a substance transfer device positioning mechanism including first registration elements associated with portions of said receptacle holding structure corresponding to each of said receptacle sets and second registration elements fixed to said substance transfer device and constructed and arranged to be selectively engageable with a portion of said first registration elements to thereby position said substance transfer device with respect to any two or more of the receptacle sets held in said receptacle holding structure to allow said substance transfer device to;

(i) simultaneously dispense substance into each of the receptacles of a first receptacle set of the two or more receptacle sets,

(ii) simultaneously remove substance from each of the receptacles of a second receptacle set of the two or more receptacle sets, or

(iii) simultaneously dispense substance into each of the receptacles of the first receptacle set and simultaneously remove substance from each of the receptacles of the second receptacle set at about the same time that said substance transfer device is simultaneously dispensing substance into each of the receptacles of the first receptacle set.

2. The work station of claim 1, wherein

said first registration elements comprise a pair of elongated guide supports, one of said elongated guide supports being positioned on either side of said receptacle holding structure, each of said elongated guide supports having a plurality of aligned, vertically extending guide holes formed therein, each of said guide holes of one of said pair of elongated guide supports being aligned with a corresponding guide hole of the other of said elongated guide supports,

said second registration elements comprise a pair of spaced, generally parallel guide rods extending from said substance transfer device, and

one of said guide rods of said second registration elements is constructed and arranged to be inserted into a one of said guide holes of one of said elongated guide supports of said first registration elements and the other of said guide rods of said second registration elements is constructed and arranged to be inserted into said corresponding guide hole of the other of said elongated guide supports of said first registration elements to position said substance transfer device with respect to said receptacle holding structure to allow said substance transfer device to:

(i) simultaneously dispense substance into each of the receptacles of the first receptacle set,

(ii) simultaneously remove substance from each of the receptacles of the second receptacle set, or

(iii) simultaneously dispense substance into each of the receptacles of the first receptacle set and simultaneously remove substance from each of the receptacles of the second receptacle set at about the same time that said substance transfer device is simultaneously dispensing substance into each of the receptacles of the first receptacle set.

3. A work station for simultaneously performing multiple assays, said work station comprising:

(a) a receptacle holding structure constructed and arranged to hold each of a plurality of receptacles in one of a plurality of receptacle sets, each set including at least two receptacles;

(b) a substance transfer device constructed and arranged to operatively interact with the receptacles of at least two of the receptacle sets held in said receptacle holding structure to simultaneously dispense substance into each of the receptacles of a first receptacle set of the at least two receptacle sets and to simultaneously remove substance from each of the receptacles of a second receptacle set of the at least two receptacle sets, wherein said substance transfer device is constructed and arranged to simultaneously remove substance from each of the receptacles of the second receptacle set at about the same time that said substance transfer device is simultaneously dispensing substance into each of the receptacles of the first receptacle set;

(c) a contamination limiting element holding structure for removably holding a plurality of contamination limiting elements which are operatively engageable by said substance transfer device to limit contact between said substance transfer device and a potentially contaminating substance dispensed or removed by said substance transfer device, and contamination limiting element holding structure being constructed and arranged to;

(i) receive and removably hold the plurality of contamination limiting elements in an operative orientation in which the contamination limiting elements can be operatively engaged by said substance transfer device, and

(ii) allow said substance transfer device to simultaneously engage two or more of the plurality of contamination limiting elements and allow the two or more contamination limiting elements engaged by said substance transfer device to be removed from said contamination limiting element holding structure; and

(d) a substance transfer device positioning mechanism including the receptacle registration structure associated with portions of said receptacle holding structure corresponding to each of said receptacle sets, a transfer registration structure fixed to said substance transfer device, and a contamination limiting element registration structure associated with said contamination limiting element holding structure,

(i) said transfer registration structure being constructed and arranged to be selectively engageable with a portion of said contamination limiting element registration structure to thereby permit said substance transfer device to be positioned with respect to said contamination limiting element holding structure to allow said substance transfer device to operatively engage the two or more contamination limiting elements, and

(ii) said transfer registration structure being constructed and arranged to be selectively engageable with a portion of said receptacle registration structure to thereby position said substance transfer device with respect to any two or more of the receptacle sets held in said receptacle holding structure to permit said substance transfer device to;

(1) simultaneously dispense substance into each of the receptacles of a first receptacle set of the two or more receptacle sets,

(2) simultaneously remove substance from each of the receptacles of the second receptacle set of the two or more receptacle sets, or

(3) simultaneously dispense substance into each of the receptacles of the first receptacle set and simultaneously remove substance from each of the receptacles of the second receptacle set at about the same time that said substance transfer device is simultaneously dispensing substance into each of the receptacles of the first receptacle set.

4. The work station of claim 3, further comprising a plurality of contamination limiting elements removably held by said contamination limiting element holding structure.

5. The work station of claim 3, further comprising a plurality of receptacles held by said receptacle holding structure.

6. The work station of claim 3, said contamination limiting element holding structure comprising one or more cassettes for holding a plurality of contamination limiting elements, each said cassette comprising:

side walls which are spaced apart and generally parallel to one another;

end walls which are opposed to one another and extend between said side walls at opposite ends thereof; and

a top panel having a plurality of apertures for receiving a plurality of contamination limiting elements formed therein, each said aperture adapted receive one of the plurality of contamination limiting elements.

7. The work station of claim 6, wherein each said cassette further comprises a plurality of dividing walls which are spaced apart and extend between said side walls and, in combination with said side walls and said end walls, define a plurality of contamination limiting element compartments, wherein each said compartment is capable of housing one of the contamination limiting elements.

8. The work station of claim 7, further comprising a plurality of contamination limiting elements, each of said plurality of contamination limiting elements being housed in an associated one of said plurality of contamination limiting element compartments.

9. The work station of claim 3, said contamination limiting element holding structure comprising one or more cassettes for holding a plurality of contamination limiting elements, each said cassette comprising:

a plurality of contamination limiting element-receiving tubes, each of said tubes having a channel formed therein for receiving a contamination limiting element and an opening for providing access to said channel;

a connecting structure holding said tubes together as an integral unit; and

a frustoconical surface surrounding said opening for facilitating alignment of a contamination limiting element with said opening.

10. The work station of claim 3, wherein said receptacle holding structure, said contamination limiting element holding structure, and said substance transfer device positioning structures are all operatively disposed on a base structure.

11. The work station of claim 3, wherein said receptacle holding structure comprises a receptacle rack for holding a plurality of receptacles arranged in an array.

12. The work station of claim 11, further comprising a base structure, said base structure including a receptacle rack well formed in said base structure, wherein said receptacle rack is constructed and arranged to be removably disposed within said receptacle rack well.

13. The work station of claim 12, wherein said receptacle holding structure further comprises one or more removable receptacle holding panels having a plurality of receptacle receiving apertures formed therein, said one or more removable receptacle holding panels being removably attachable to said receptacle rack for providing insert apertures by which each of the receptacles is inserted into said receptacle rack.

14. The work station of claim 3, wherein said contamination limiting element holding structure comprises a pipette tip rack for holding a plurality of pipette tips arranged in an array.

15. The work station of claim 14, wherein said pipette tip rack comprises a top panel and upstanding sidewall structures supporting said top panel, said top panel having formed therein a plurality of slots arranged generally in parallel with one another, and wherein said contamination limiting element holding structure further comprises one or more cassettes for holding a plurality of contamination limiting elements, each of said one or more cassettes being constructed and arranged to be operatively positioned in an associated one of said slots formed in said top panel.

16. The work station of claim 14, further comprising a base structure, said base structure including a pipette tip rack well formed in said base structure, said pipette tip rack being constructed and arranged to be removably disposed within said pipette tip rack well.

17. The work station of claim 3, wherein said substance transfer device comprises:

(a) an elongated central support member;

(b) a pair of upstanding handle members attached to and extending upwardly from said central support member proximate opposite ends thereof;

(c) a substance dispensing apparatus operatively mounted to said central support member and including two or more conduits, said substance dispensing apparatus being constructed and arranged to simultaneously dispense substance from each of said two or more conduits of said substance dispensing apparatus into each of the two or more receptacles of the first set; and

(d) a substance removing apparatus operatively mounted to said central support member and including two or more conduits, said substance removing apparatus being constructed and arranged to simultaneously remove substance through each of said conduits of said substance removing apparatus from each of the two or more receptacles of the second set, wherein said substance removing apparatus is constructed and arranged to remove substance from each of the two or more receptacles of the second set at about the same time said substance dispensing apparatus is dispensing substance into each of the two or more receptacles of the first set.

18. The work station of claim 17, wherein said substance dispensing apparatus comprises a dispenser manifold defining a central conduit and two or more branch conduits extending from said central conduit, said central conduit of said dispenser manifold being connected to a source of substance to be dispensed into the receptacles, and, wherein said substance removing apparatus comprises an aspirator manifold defining a central conduit and two or more branch conduits extending from said central conduit through which substances are removed from the receptacles by aspiration;

said central conduit of said aspirator manifold being connected to a container for storing substances aspirated from the receptacles.

19. The work station of claim 3,

wherein said receptacle registration structure comprises a pair of elongated guide supports, one of said elongated guide supports being positioned on either side of said receptacle holding structure, each of said elongated guide supports having a plurality of aligned, vertically extending guide holes formed therein, each of said guide holes of one of said pair of elongated guide supports being aligned with a corresponding guide hole of the other of said elongated guide supports,

wherein said contamination limiting element registration structure comprises a pair of elongated guide supports, one of said elongated guide supports being positioned on either side of said contamination limiting element holding structure, each of said elongated guide supports having a plurality of aligned, vertically extending guide holes formed therein, each of said guide holes of one of said pair of elongated guide supports being aligned with a corresponding guide hole of the other of said elongated guide support, and

wherein said transfer registration structure comprises a pair of spaced, generally parallel guide rods extending from said substance transfer device,

wherein one of said guide rods of said transfer registration structure is constructed and arranged to be inserted into a one of said guide holes of one of said elongated guide supports of said contamination limiting element registration structure and the other of said guide rods of said transfer registration structure is constructed and arranged to be inserted into said corresponding aligned guide hole of the other of said elongated guide supports of said contamination limiting element registration structure to position said substance transfer device with respect to said contamination limiting element holding structure to allow said substance transfer device to operatively engage the two or more contamination limiting elements, and

wherein one of said guide rods of said transfer registration structure is constructed and arranged to be inserted into a one of said guide holes of one of said elongated guide supports of said receptacle registration structure and the other of said guide rods of said transfer registration structure is constructed and arranged to be inserted into said corresponding guide hole of the other of said elongated guide supports of said receptacle registration structure to position said substance transfer device with respect to said receptacle holding structure to allow said substance transfer device to:

(i) simultaneously dispense substance into each of the receptacles of the first receptacle set,

(ii) simultaneously remove substance from each of the receptacles of the second receptacle set, or

(iii) simultaneously dispense substance into each of the receptacles of the first receptacle set and simultaneously remove substance from each of the receptacles of the second receptacle set at about the same time that said substance transfer device is simultaneously dispensing substance into each of the receptacles of the first receptacle set.

20. The work station of claim 12, further comprising a plurality of spaced, substantially parallel dividing walls extending laterally across a bottom portion of said receptacle rack well so as to define a plurality of spaced, laterally extending, substantially parallel receptacle receiving troughs across said bottom portion of said receptacle rack well for receiving therein portions of the plurality of receptacles held in said receptacle rack.

21. The work station of claim 20, further comprising magnetic structures incorporated into or defining said dividing walls to create a magnetic field within said troughs so as to expose any substance contained within the plurality of receptacles received within said receptacle receiving troughs to said magnetic field.

22. A work station for simultaneously performing multiple assays, said work station comprising:

(a) a receptacle holding structure constructed and arranged to hold each of a plurality of receptacles in one of a plurality of receptacle sets, each set including at least two receptacles;

(b) a substance transfer device constructed and arranged to operatively interact with the plurality on the receptacles of at least two of the receptacle sets held in said receptacle holding structure to simultaneously dispense substance into each of the receptacles of a first receptacle set of the at least two receptacle sets and to simultaneously remove substance from each of the receptacles of a second receptacle set of the at least two receptacle sets, wherein said substance transfer device is constructed and arranged to simultaneously remove substance from each of the receptacles of the second receptacle set at about the same time that said substance transfer device is simultaneously dispensing substance into each of the receptacles of the first receptacle set;

(c) the receiving structure for receiving a removable contamination limiting element holding device for removably holding a plurality of contamination limiting elements which are operatively engageable by said substance transfer device to limit contact between said substance transfer device and a potentially contaminating substance dispensed or removed by said substance transfer device, said receiving structure being constructed and arranged so that the contamination limiting element holding device held thereby is positioned and oriented to;

(i) receive and removably hold the plurality of contamination limiting elements in an operative orientation in which the contamination limiting elements can be operatively engaged by said substance transfer device, and

(ii) allow said substance transfer device to simultaneously engage two or more of the plurality of contamination limiting elements and allow the two or more contamination limiting elements engaged by said substance transfer device to be removed from the contamination limiting element holding device; and

(d) a substance transfer device positioning mechanism including a receptacle registration structure associated with portions of said receptacle holding structure corresponding to each of said receptacle sets, a transfer registration structure fixed to said substance transfer device, and a contamination limiting element registration structure associated with and said receiving structure,

(i) said transfer registration structure being constructed and arranged to be selectively engageable with a portion of said contamination limiting element registration structure to thereby permit said substance transfer device to be positioned with respect to a contamination limiting element holding device operatively held by said receiving structure to allow said substance transfer device to operatively engage two or more contamination limiting elements held in the contamination limiting element holding device, and

(ii) said transfer registration structure being constructed and arranged to be selectively engageable with a portion of said receptacle registration structure to thereby position said substance transfer device with respect to any two or more of the receptacle sets held in said receptacle holding structure to permit said substance transfer device to allow said substance transfer device to;

(1) simultaneously dispense substance into each of the receptacles of a first receptacle set of the two or more receptacle sets,

(2) simultaneously remove substance from each of the receptacles of a second receptacle set of the two receptacle sets, or

(3) simultaneously dispense substance into each of the receptacles of the first receptacle set and simultaneously remove substance from each of the receptacles of the second receptacle set at about the same time that said substance transfer device is simultaneously dispensing substance into each of the receptacles of the first receptacle set.

23. The work station of claim 22, further comprising a removable contamination limiting element holding device operatively held by said receiving structure.

24. A work station for simultaneously performing multiple assays, said work station comprising:

(a) a receiving structure for receiving a removable receptacle holding device for holding each of a plurality of receptacles in one of a plurality of receptacle sets;

(b) a substance transfer device constructed and arranged to operatively interact with receptacles of at least two receptacle sets held in a receptacle holding device carried by said receiving structure to simultaneously dispense substance into each of the receptacles of a first receptacle set of the at least two receptacle sets and to simultaneously remove substance from each of the receptacles of a second receptacle set of the at least two receptacle sets, wherein said substance transfer device is constructed and arranged to simultaneously remove substance from each of the receptacles of the second receptacle set at about the same time that said substance transfer device is simultaneously dispensing substance into each of the receptacles of the first receptacle set;

(c) a contamination limiting element holding structure for removably holding a plurality of contamination limiting elements which are operatively engageable by said substance transfer device to limit contact between said substance transfer device and a potentially contaminating substance dispensed or removed by said substance transfer device, said contamination limiting element holding structure being constructed and arranged to;

(i) receive and removably hold the plurality of contamination limiting elements in an operative orientation in which the contamination limiting elements can be operatively engaged by said substance transfer device, and

(ii) allow said substance transfer device to simultaneously engage two or more of the plurality of contamination limiting elements and allow the two or more contamination limiting elements engaged by said substance transfer device to be removed from said contamination limiting element holding structure; and

(d) a substance transfer device positioning mechanism including a receptacle registration structure associated with said receiving structure, the transfer registration structure fixed to said substance transfer device, and a contamination limiting element registration structure associated with portions of said contamination limiting element holding structure,

(i) said transfer registration structure being constructed and arranged to be selectively engageable with the portion of said contamination limiting element registration structure to thereby permit said substance transfer device to be positioned with respect to said contamination limiting element holding structure to allow said substance transfer device to operatively engage the two or more contamination limiting elements, and

(ii) said transfer registration structure being constructed and arranged to be selectively engageable with a portion of said receptacle registration structure to thereby position said substance transfer device with respect to any two or more of the receptacle sets held in a receptacle holding device carried by said receiving structure to permit said substance transfer device to;

(1) simultaneously dispense substance into each of the receptacles of the first receptacle set of the two or more receptacle sets,

(2) simultaneously remove substance from each of the receptacles of the second receptacle set of the two or more receptacle sets, or

(3) simultaneously dispense substance into each of the receptacles of the first receptacle set and simultaneously remove substance from each of the receptacles of the second receptacle set at about the same time that said substance transfer device is simultaneously dispensing substance into each of the receptacles of the first receptacle set.

25. The work station of claim 24, further comprising a removable receptacle holding device operatively held by said receiving structure.