Microarray detector and synthesizer

• US 7,081,954 B2
• Filed: 10/19/2004
• Issued: 07/25/2006
• 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:
  US10/968,556
• Publication Number:
  US 20050079603A1
• Time in Patent Office: 644 Days
• Field of Search: 356/317, 356/318, 356/417, 250/458.1, 250/459.1, 250/461.1, 250/461.2, 435/288.7
• 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 device comprising a spatial light modulator and detector configured to optically interrogate selected sites on a microarray, wherein said device, in a first mode, is configured to synthesize biomolecules at said selected sites using energy directed at said selected sites by said spatial light modulator and in a second mode, is configured to detect biological interactions at said selected sites, wherein said detector detects light that results from light being directed at said selected sites by said spatial light modulator.

2. The device of claim 1, wherein said device further comprises a processor configured to measure optical signals detected by said detector.

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

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

5. The device of claim 2, wherein said optical signal comprises fluorescence.

6. The device of claim 2, wherein said optical signal comprises luminescence.

7. The device of claim 1, wherein said device further comprises a polychromatic light source.

8. The device of claim 7, wherein said polychromatic light source is selected from the group consisting of;

fluorescent lamps, mercury arc lamps, mercury-xenon are lamps, xenon arc lamps, xenon flash lamps, and metal-halide lamps.

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

10. The device of claim 2, wherein said device further comprises a computer memory capable of storing process data received from said processor.

11. The device of claim 1, wherein said biological interactions comprise synthesis of nucleic acid molecules at said selected sites.

12. A method of synthesizing and analyzing a microarray comprising:

a) providing the device of claim 1, reagents for synthesizing biological molecules, and a sample to be analyzed;

b) synthesizing a biomolecular array using said device in said first mode to generate a biomolecular microarray; and

c) analyzing said sample by exposing said sample to said biomolecular microarray and detecting an optical signal with said detector in said second mode.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein said biomolecular array comprises a nucleic acid array.

14. The method of claim 12, wherein said biomolecular array comprises a peptide array.

15. The method of claim 12, wherein said spatial light modulator comprises a micromirror device.