Method for monitoring molecular species within a medium

• US 7,097,973 B1
• Filed: 06/14/1999
• Issued: 08/29/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 06/14/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Alpha M.O.S.
• Original Assignee: Alpha M.O.S.
• Inventors: Zenhausern, Frederic
• Primary Examiner(s): FORMAN, BETTY J
• Application Number:
  US09/332,659
• Time in Patent Office: 2,633 Days
• Field of Search: 435/6, 435/7.1, 435/7.2, 435/7.3, 435/287.1, 435/288.1, 422/58, 422/68.1, 422/119
• US Class Current: 435/6.19
• CPC Class Codes: C12Q 1/686 Polymerase chain reaction [PCR]
• CPC Class Codes: C12Q 2561/113 Real time assay
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 21/6486 Measuring fluorescence of biological material, e.g. DNA, RNA, cells G01N21/6428 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G16B 40/00 ICT specially adapted for biostatistics; ICT specially adapted for bioinformatics-related machine learning or data mining, e.g. knowledge discovery or pattern finding
• CPC Class Codes: G16B 40/10 Signal processing, e.g. from mass spectrometry [MS] or from PCR
• CPC Class Codes: G16B 40/20 Supervised data analysis
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 977/924 using nanostructure as support of dna analysis

Abstract

Apparatus and methods for monitoring, analyzing, and/or discriminating molecular species, preferably a biomolecule, within a medium using a multisensor array (MSA) and multivariate processing. Biological compounds such as nucleotides and polynucleotides can be detected and analyzed. A reaction process such as an accumulation cycle of nucleic acids can be monitored, analyzed, and controlled using a multisensor array (MSA) and multivariate processing. Monitoring a biomolecule includes interrogating the medium, and preferably its gas phase, by coupling a sensor responsive to any changes of the medium and or biomolecule and its secondary products when, for example, an amplification reaction is proceeded. It is also a scope of the present invention to use direct detection and monitoring of biomolecular reactions in real-time without radioactive or fluorescent labeling. A preferred application is real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) detection.

Claims

1. A method for directly in-situ monitoring volatile compounds in a gas or vapor phase medium from a nucleic acid polymerase amplification reaction, in real-time during the reaction, which comprisies one or more nucleic acids, comprising the steps of:

screening the medium with a multisensor array in the same container as said reaction so that more than one physico-chemical change of a gas or vapor phase of a nucleic acid is detected in real-time during the reaction by the multisensor to provide detected information to produce at least one signal output;

transferring the signal output to a signal processing means responsive to differences in electromagnetic properties of the signal for generating a final output;

receiving the final output into a pattern recognition means sufficient to generate a measurement pattern of the information;

sorting the information in accordance with a set of class boundaries of the physico-chemical changes; and

monitoring sorted information in real-time during the reaction that is representative of the identity and amount the one or more nucleic acids in the medium.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the multisensor array comprises a semiconductor gas sensor.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the multisensor array comprises at least one metal oxide gas sensor.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the multisensor array comprises at least one conductive polymer sensor.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the multisensor array comprises at least one of a vibrating or a resonant micromechanical device.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein the multisensor array comprises a mass spectrometer.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein the multisensor array comprises an optical sensing probe.

8. The method according to claim 1, wherein the information comprises at least one of odorous or volatile chemical species characteristic of the presence of a nucleic acid.

9. The method according to claim 1, wherein at least part of the information detected by the multisensor array is a change in the concentration of a nucleic acid.

10. The method according to claim 1, wherein at least part of the information detected by the multisensor array is a change in at least one secondary product of the reaction.

11. The method according to claim 1 subsequently comprising the step of controlling the polymerase reaction.