Apparatus and method for monitoring molecular species within a medium
First Claim
1. An apparatus for analyzing at least one unlabelled biomolecule selected from the group consisting of protein, lipid, carbohydrate and nucleic acid, during a reaction process, by monitoring volatile compounds directly in-situ within a gas or vapor phase medium from the reaction, comprising:
- a multisensor array capable of detecting and discriminating more than one physico-chemical change of a gas or vapor phase of an unlabelled biomolecule or a product thereof, directly from the medium in-situ wherein the multisensor array comprises at least one metal oxide semiconductor;
transmission means, capable of transmitting a signal between the multisensor array and a data acquisition system, capable of converting the signal into raw data;
a computational device capable of processing at least part of the raw data using multivariate analysis to create a data set; and
an output device capable of displaying, storing, or using the data set.
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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.
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Citations
7 Claims
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1. An apparatus for analyzing at least one unlabelled biomolecule selected from the group consisting of protein, lipid, carbohydrate and nucleic acid, during a reaction process, by monitoring volatile compounds directly in-situ within a gas or vapor phase medium from the reaction, comprising:
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a multisensor array capable of detecting and discriminating more than one physico-chemical change of a gas or vapor phase of an unlabelled biomolecule or a product thereof, directly from the medium in-situ wherein the multisensor array comprises at least one metal oxide semiconductor; transmission means, capable of transmitting a signal between the multisensor array and a data acquisition system, capable of converting the signal into raw data; a computational device capable of processing at least part of the raw data using multivariate analysis to create a data set; and an output device capable of displaying, storing, or using the data set. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3)
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4. An apparatus for controlling a nucleic acid replication process, comprising:
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a multisensor array capable of detecting and discriminating more than one physico-chemical change of a gas or vapor phase of a nucleic acid or a product thereof within a gas or vapor phase medium, and generating an output; a computational device capable of processing the output using multivariate analysis to create a data set; and a feedback control capable of using the data set to control the replication process. - View Dependent Claims (5)
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6. An apparatus for detecting at least one of a bacteria, bacteriophage, or a virus, comprising:
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a multisensor array capable of detecting and discriminating more than one physico-chemical change within a gas or vapor phase of an unlabelled nucleic acid extracted from the bacteria bacteriophage or virus, or unlabelled product of said nucleic acid, from a medium in situ, wherein the multisensor array comprises at least one metal oxide semiconductor; means for generating an output; a computational device capable of processing the output using multivariate analysis to create a data set; and an output device capable of displaying, storing, or using the data set.
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7. An apparatus for analyzing at least one of a bacteria, a bacteriophage, or a virus, comprising:
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a multisensor array capable of detecting and discriminating more than one physico-chernical change within a gas or vapor phase of an unlabelled nucleic acid or an unlabelled product thereof created or modified by the bacteria, the bacteriophage, or the virus, from a medium in situ, wherein the multisensor array comprises at least one metal oxide semiconductor, and generating an output; a computational device capable of processing the output using multivariate analysis to create a data set; and an output device capable of displaying, storing, or using the data set.
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Specification