Microarray detector and synthesizer

• US 6,806,954 B2
• Filed: 04/08/2003
• Issued: 10/19/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 08/17/2000
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Gene Reader LLC (IPValuation Partners, LLC)
• Original Assignee: Able Signal Company, LLC
• Inventors: Sandstrom, Perry
• Primary Examiner(s): Evans, F. L.
• Application Number:
  US10/408,870
• Publication Number:
  US 20030174324A1
• Time in Patent Office: 560 Days
• Field of Search: 356/317, 356/318, 356/417, 250/458.1, 250/459.1, 250/461.1, 250/461.2
• US Class Current: 356/317
• CPC Class Codes: B01J 2219/00378 Piezoelectric or ink jet dispensers
• CPC Class Codes: B01J 2219/00387 Applications using probes
• CPC Class Codes: B01J 2219/00439 using micromirror arrays
• CPC Class Codes: B01J 2219/00527 Sheets
• CPC Class Codes: B01J 2219/00576 fluorophore
• CPC Class Codes: B01J 2219/00605 the compounds being directly bound or immobilised to solid supports
• CPC Class Codes: B01J 2219/00608 DNA chips
• CPC Class Codes: B01J 2219/0061 The surface being organic
• CPC Class Codes: B01J 2219/00612 the surface being inorganic
• CPC Class Codes: B01J 2219/00619 using hydrophilic or hydrophobic regions
• CPC Class Codes: B01J 2219/00626 Covalent
• CPC Class Codes: B01J 2219/00639 the compounds being trapped in or bound to a porous medium
• CPC Class Codes: B01J 2219/00659 Two-dimensional arrays
• CPC Class Codes: B01J 2219/00675 In-situ synthesis on the substrate
• CPC Class Codes: B01J 2219/00693 Means for quality control
• CPC Class Codes: B01J 2219/00704 integrated with the reactor apparatus
• CPC Class Codes: B01J 2219/00711 Light-directed synthesis
• CPC Class Codes: B01J 2219/00722 Nucleotides
• CPC Class Codes: B01J 2219/00725 Peptides
• CPC Class Codes: B82Y 30/00 Nanotechnology for materials or surface science, e.g. nanocomposites
• CPC Class Codes: C40B 60/08 : Integrated apparatus specially adapted for both creating and screening libraries
• CPC Class Codes: G01J 3/02 : Details
• CPC Class Codes: G01J 3/021 : using plane or convex mirrors, parallel phase plates, or particular reflectors
• CPC Class Codes: G01J 3/0229 : using masks, aperture plates, spatial light modulators or spatial filters, e.g. reflective filters
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 21/6428 : Measuring fluorescence of fluorescent products of reactions or of fluorochrome labelled reactive substances, e.g. measuring quenching effects, using measuring "optrodes" in vivo A61B5/00; immunoassay G01N33/53
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 21/645 : Specially adapted constructive features of fluorimeters
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 21/6452 : Individual samples arranged in a regular 2D-array, e.g. multiwell plates
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 21/6456 : Spatial resolved fluorescence measurements; Imaging

Abstract

The present invention relates to novel systems, devices, and methods comprising spatial light modulators for use in the reading and synthesis of microarrays. For example, the present invention provides micromirror systems for synthesizing and acquiring data from nucleic acid microarrays and systems for collecting, processing, and analyzing data obtained from a microarray.

Claims

1. A system for real-time monitoring of binding of an analyte to a microarray comprising:

a) a spatial light modulator and detector configured to optically interrogate selected sites on a microarray when said microarray is exposed to an analyte that binds to said sites on said microarray to generate optical signals; and

b) a processor configured to measure said optical signals from one or more sites on said microarray.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein said detector comprises an optical signal detector operated in analog mode.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein said detector comprises an optical signal detector operated in photon-counting mode.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein said optical signal comprises flourescence.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein said optical signal comprises luminescence.

6. The system of claim 1, further comprising a polychromatic light source.

7. The system of claim 6, wherein said polychromatic light source is selected from the group consisting of:

flourescent lamps, mercury arc lamps, mercury-xenon arc lamps, xenon arc lamps, xenon flash lamps, and metal-halide lamps.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein said spatial light modulator comprises a micromirror device.

9. The system of claim 1, further comprising a computer memory capable of storing process data received from said processor.

10. The system of claim 1, further comprising a signal processor that generates a variable output representing ongoing binding of said analyte to said sites.

11. A method for detecting binding of an analyte to a microarray, comprising:

providing the system of claim 1;

exposing a sample suspected of containing said analyte to said microarray; and

detecting the presence of said analyte.