Optical system for a scanning fluorometer
First Claim
1. A fluorometer for characterizing at least one sample within at least one sample well of a sample plate, the fluorometer comprising:
- a source of excitation light;
an optical head assembly coupled to said excitation light source, said optical head assembly comprising;
an optical element for directing said excitation light toward said at least one sample well along a first optical path, wherein a first optical path axis corresponding to said first optical path is offset by a first angle away from a normal to a bottom surface of said at least one sample well;
a first reflector for reflecting fluorescence emitted by said at least one sample within said at least one sample well; and
an aperture within said first reflector, wherein said excitation light directed by said optical element passes through said aperture prior to impinging on said at least one sample within said at least one sample well; and
a detector coupled to said optical head assembly, wherein said reflected emitted fluorescence is detected by said detector.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A method and apparatus for determining the fluorescence, luminescence, or absorption of a sample is provided. The sample may either be contained within a cuvette or within one or more sample wells within a multi-assay plate. A combination of a broadband source, a monochromator, and a series of optical filters are used to tune the excitation wavelength to a predetermined value within a relatively wide wavelength band. A similar optical configuration is used to tune the detection wavelength. An optical scanning head assembly is used that includes mirrored optics for coupling the excitation source to the sample and the emitted light to the detector. An elliptical focussing mirror is used to magnify and focus the light projected from an optical fiber coupled to the source subassembly onto the sample. A portion of the source light is reflected by a beamsplitter onto a reference detector used to monitor the output of the source. The light from the elliptical mirror passes through an aperture in a second elliptical mirror prior to impinging upon the sample. The light emitted by the sample within the sample well is reflected by the second elliptical mirror and imaged onto the entrance aperture of an optical fiber coupled to the detector subassembly. The optical axes of both mirrors are slightly offset from the sample well normal. The mirror offset minimizes the amount of light reflected from the meniscus of the sample or the bottom surface of the sample well that enters the detection subassembly.
135 Citations
32 Claims
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1. A fluorometer for characterizing at least one sample within at least one sample well of a sample plate, the fluorometer comprising:
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a source of excitation light;
an optical head assembly coupled to said excitation light source, said optical head assembly comprising;
an optical element for directing said excitation light toward said at least one sample well along a first optical path, wherein a first optical path axis corresponding to said first optical path is offset by a first angle away from a normal to a bottom surface of said at least one sample well;
a first reflector for reflecting fluorescence emitted by said at least one sample within said at least one sample well; and
an aperture within said first reflector, wherein said excitation light directed by said optical element passes through said aperture prior to impinging on said at least one sample within said at least one sample well; and
a detector coupled to said optical head assembly, wherein said reflected emitted fluorescence is detected by said detector. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26)
a lamp;
a scanning monochromator; and
a plurality of optical filters.
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19. The fluorometer of claim 18, wherein said lamp is a xenon lamp.
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20. The fluorometer of claim 18, further comprising a processor coupled to said excitation light source, wherein said processor controls an output wavelength of said excitation light source by controlling said lamp, said scanning monochromator, and said plurality of optical filters.
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21. The fluorometer of claim 1, said detector further comprising:
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a scanning monochromator; and
a plurality of optical filters.
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22. The fluorometer of claim 21, wherein said detector is a photomultiplier tube detector.
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23. The fluorometer of claim 22, further comprising a processor coupled to said detector, wherein said processor controls a detection wavelength of said detector by controlling said scanning monochromator, said plurality of optical filters, and an output voltage of a high voltage source coupled to said photomultipler tube detector.
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24. The fluorometer of claim 1, wherein said sample plate is a multi-assay plate.
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25. The fluorometer of claim 24, further comprising:
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a heater;
a temperature monitor, an air circulation system; and
an enclosure substantially surrounding a sample plate holding fixture for use with said multi-assay plate, wherein a humidity proximate to said multi-assay plate is in excess of 90 percent.
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26. The fluorometer of claim 25, wherein a temperature corresponding to each of said plurality of sample wells varies by less than 0.2°
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27. A fluorometer, comprising:
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a source of excitation light;
an optical head assembly coupled to said excitation light source, said optical head assembly comprising;
a first elliptical mirror for reflecting said excitation light toward a sample well along a first optical path,-wherein a first optical path axis corresponding to said first optical path is offset by a first angle away from a normal to a bottom surface of said sample well;
a second elliptical mirror for reflecting fluorescence emitted by a sample within said sample well, wherein a portion of said fluorescence emitted by said at least one sample follows a second optical path and is reflected by said second elliptical mirror, wherein a second optical path axis corresponding to said second optical path is offset by a second angle away from said normal to said bottom surface; and
an aperture within said second elliptical mirror, wherein said excitation light reflected by said first elliptical mirror passes through said aperture prior to impinging on said sample well; and
a detector coupled to said optical head assembly, wherein said reflected emitted fluorescence is detected by said detector.
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28. A fluorometer, comprising:
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a source of excitation light;
an optical head assembly coupled to said excitation light source, said optical head assembly comprising;
a first mirror for reflecting said excitation light toward a sample well along a first optical path, wherein a first optical path axis corresponding to said first optical path is offset by a first angle away from a normal to a bottom surface of said sample well;
a second mirror for reflecting fluorescence emitted by a sample within said sample well, wherein a portion of said fluorescence emitted by said at least one sample follows a second optical path and is reflected by said second mirror, wherein a second optical path axis corresponding to said second optical path coincides with said first optical path axis; and
an aperture within said second mirror, wherein said excitation light reflected by said first mirror passes through said aperture prior to impinging on said sample well; and
a first carriage assembly coupled to said optical head assembly, said first carriage assembly scanning along a first scanning axis;
a second carriage assembly coupled to said sample well, said second carriage assembly scanning along a second scanning axis, wherein said first scanning axis is substantially orthogonal to said second scanning axis; and
a detector coupled to said optical head assembly, wherein said reflected emitted fluorescence is detected by said detector.
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29. A fluorometer for characterizing at least one sample within at least one sample well of a sample plate, the fluorometer comprising:
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a source of excitation light;
an optical head assembly coupled to said excitation light source, said optical head assembly comprising;
an optical element for directing said excitation light toward said at least one sample well, wherein said excitation light impinges on a top surface of said at least one sample at a first location, said first location offset by a first distance from a center line of said at least one sample well;
a first reflector for reflecting fluorescence emitted by said at least one sample within said at least one sample well; and
an aperture within said first reflector, wherein said excitation light directed by said optical element passes through said aperture prior to impinging on said at least one sample within said at least one sample well; and
a detector coupled to said optical head assembly, wherein said reflected emitted fluorescence is detected by said detector. - View Dependent Claims (30)
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31. A fluorometer for characterizing at least one sample within at least one sample well of a multi-assay sample plate, the fluorometer comprising:
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a source of excitation light;
an optical head assembly coupled to said excitation light source, said optical head assembly comprising;
an optical element for directing said excitation light toward said at least one sample well;
a first reflector for reflecting fluorescence emitted by said at least one sample within said at least one sample well; and
an aperture within said first reflector, wherein said excitation light directed by said optical element passes through said aperture prior to impinging on said at least one sample within said at least one sample well;
a detector coupled to said optical head assembly, wherein said reflected emitted fluorescence is detected by said detector a heater;
a temperature monitor;
an air circulation system; and
an enclosure substantially surrounding a sample plate holding fixture for use with said multi-assay plate, wherein a humidity proximate to said multi-assay sample plate is in excess of 90 percent. - View Dependent Claims (32)
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Specification