Apparatus and methods for infrared calorimetric measurements
First Claim
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1. A method of detecting thermal infrared radiation, comprising:
- providing a sample plate having a plurality of sample wells and a corresponding plurality of thermal reference regions positioned adjacent the sample wells;
providing an optical device configured preferentially to detect thermal infrared radiation;
detecting thermal infrared radiation transmitted from a sample positioned within at least one of the sample wells using the optical device;
detecting thermal infrared radiation transmitted from a thermal reference region positioned adjacent the sample well holding the sample using the optical device; and
constructing a sample signal characteristic of the thermal infrared radiation detected from the sample based on the thermal infrared radiation detected from the sample and the adjacent thermal reference region.
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Abstract
Apparatus and methods for performing calorimetry. The apparatus include optical devices for detecting thermal processes and multiwell sample plates for supporting samples for use with such optical devices. The methods include measurement strategies and data processing techniques for reducing noise in measurements of thermal processes. The apparatus and methods may be particularly suitable for extracting thermal data from small differential measurements made using an infrared camera and for monitoring chemical and physiological processes.
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Citations
36 Claims
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1. A method of detecting thermal infrared radiation, comprising:
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providing a sample plate having a plurality of sample wells and a corresponding plurality of thermal reference regions positioned adjacent the sample wells;
providing an optical device configured preferentially to detect thermal infrared radiation;
detecting thermal infrared radiation transmitted from a sample positioned within at least one of the sample wells using the optical device;
detecting thermal infrared radiation transmitted from a thermal reference region positioned adjacent the sample well holding the sample using the optical device; and
constructing a sample signal characteristic of the thermal infrared radiation detected from the sample based on the thermal infrared radiation detected from the sample and the adjacent thermal reference region. - 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, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36)
repeating the step of constructing a sample signal for the plurality of samples; and
adjusting the sample signals so that each has the same preselected value at the same preselected relative time.
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22. The method of claim 21, where the preselected value is zero.
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23. The method of claim 21, where the preselected time is zero.
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24. The method of claim 20, where the thermal infrared radiation is detected simultaneously from the plurality of samples.
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25. The method of claim 20, where the thermal infrared radiation is detected sequentially from the plurality of samples.
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26. The method of claim 1, the sample plate comprising an insert portion containing the sample wells and a support portion containing the thermal reference regions, further comprising forming the sample plate by mating the insert portion with the support portion.
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27. The method of claim 1, where the optical device comprises:
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an examination site; and
a detector configured to receive and preferentially to detect thermal infrared radiation transmitted from a sample positioned within a sample well at the examination site.
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28. The method of claim 1, the sample wells having a central axis, the optical device having an optical axis, further comprising aligning the central axis and the optical axis prior to the steps of detecting thermal infrared radiation.
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29. The method of claim 1, further comprising shielding the sample from incident radiation to reduce the proportion of the sample signal arising from transmission, reflection, and/or photoluminescence from the sample.
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30. The method of claim 1, further comprising filtering the radiation transmitted from the sample to extract thermal infrared radiation prior to the step of detecting thermal infrared radiation.
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31. The method of claim 1, where at least about half of the thermal infrared radiation detected by the optical device has a wavelength between about 3 micrometers and about 5 micrometers.
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32. The method of claim 1, where at least about half of the thermal infrared radiation detected by the optical device has a wavelength between about 7 micrometers and about 14 micrometers.
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33. The method of claim 1, further comprising computing a quantity related to a characteristic of the thermal infrared radiation transmitted from the sample.
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34. The method of claim 33, where the quantity is representative of the temperature of the sample.
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35. The method of claim 33, further comprising:
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computing the quantity for a plurality of samples; and
displaying the quantities graphically in a manner representative of the arrangement of the corresponding sample wells in the sample plate.
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36. The method of claim 1, further comprising covering the sample wells to reduce evaporation from the samples.
Specification