Heated reaction chamber for processing a biochip and method for controlling said reaction chamber

• US 8,110,157 B2
• Filed: 06/27/2007
• Issued: 02/07/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 06/27/2006
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Zentaris GmbH (Aeterna Zentaris Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Zentaris GmbH (Aeterna Zentaris Inc.)
• Inventors: Lepschi, Jana, Gohring, Jens, Heydenhaus, Stefan, Ullrich, Manuel
• Primary Examiner(s): SIEFKE, SAMUEL P
• Application Number:
  US12/306,299
• Publication Number:
  US 20090197778A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,686 Days
• Field of Search: 422/430, 422/401, 422/68.1
• US Class Current: 422/430
• CPC Class Codes: B01L 2200/147 Employing temperature sensors
• CPC Class Codes: B01L 2300/0636 Integrated biosensor, microarrays
• CPC Class Codes: B01L 2300/0822 Slides
• CPC Class Codes: B01L 2300/0851 Bottom walls
• CPC Class Codes: B01L 2300/123 Flexible; Elastomeric
• CPC Class Codes: B01L 2300/1805 Conductive heating, heat from thermostatted solids is conducted to receptacles, e.g. heating plates, blocks
• CPC Class Codes: B01L 2300/1822 using Peltier elements
• CPC Class Codes: B01L 2300/1827 using resistive heater
• CPC Class Codes: B01L 2300/1894 Cooling means; Cryo cooling
• CPC Class Codes: B01L 7/52 with provision for submitting samples to a predetermined sequence of different temperatures, e.g. for treating nucleic acid samples amplification or hybridisation processes per se C12Q1/68; controlling sequential reactions for synthesis B01J19/0046
• CPC Class Codes: B01L 7/5255 by moving sample containers

Abstract

The invention relates to a heated reaction chamber for processing a biochip and to a method for controlling said reaction chamber. The heated reaction chamber for processing a biochip comprises a chamber wall, constituted by a flexible circuit board (10), a circuit path (10.3) being configured on the flexible circuit board (10) and being used as the heating device. The use of a flexible circuit board as the wall of a reaction chamber allows for a low thermal capacity of the reaction chamber in the area of the heating device, thereby allowing the chamber to be heated up quickly.

Claims

1. A cartridge comprising an equalization chamber, an equalization passage and heated reaction chamber for processing a biochip,

the heated reaction chamber communicating with the equalization chamber via the equalization passage,

the equalization passage comprising a window, and

the heated reaction chamber comprising:

(a) a flexible printed circuit board forming a boundary wall of the reaction chamber, wherein a conductor serving as a heating device is formed on the flexible printed circuit board, and

(b) a measuring and control unit connected to the conductor serving as a heating device, the measuring and control unit designed to control the conductor serving as a heating device both for heating and for measuring the temperature, wherein the measuring and control unit is designed for simultaneous heating and measuring the temperature.

2. The cartridge of claim 1, wherein the measuring and control unit comprises two substantially identical measuring channels designed to measure the heating voltage and the heating current.

3. The cartridge of claim 2, wherein each of the two measuring channels is provided with an A/D converter forming a part of a synchronous two-channel A/D converter.

4. The cartridge of claim 1, wherein the measuring and control unit is connected to pick off the voltage at the heating conductor and the voltage at a current measuring resistor connected in series with the heating conductor.

5. The cartridge of claim 1, wherein the measuring and control unit is designed for scanning the temperature with a scanning rate of at least 1000 Hz.

6. The cartridge of claim 1, wherein the measuring and control unit is designed for scanning the temperature with a scanning rate of at least 3000 Hz.

7. The cartridge of claim 4, wherein the measuring and control unit is designed for scanning the temperature with a scanning rate of at least 1000 Hz.

8. The cartridge of claim 4, wherein the measuring and control unit is designed for scanning the temperature with a scanning rate of at least 3000 Hz.

9. The cartridge of claim 1, wherein the heating conductor is located on the side of the flexible printed circuit board which is remote from the reaction chamber, and wherein a temperature homogenization layer of a thermally conductive material is provided on the side of the flexible printed circuit board which faces inwards towards the reaction chamber.

10. The cartridge of claim 7, wherein the heating conductor is located on the side of the flexible printed circuit board which is remote from the reaction chamber, and in that a temperature homogenization layer of a thermally conductive material, is provided on the side of the flexible printed circuit board which faces inwards towards the reaction chamber.

11. The cartridge of claim 1, wherein the heating conductor does not have any crossovers.

12. The cartridge of claim 1, wherein the heating conductor has a resistance of about 5 to 100 ohms at room temperature.

13. The cartridge of claim 1, wherein the heating conductor has a resistance of about 5 to 100 ohms at room temperature.

14. The cartridge of claim 1, wherein the heating conductor is made of copper.

15. The cartridge of claim 1, wherein a semiconductor memory for storing data specific to the respective reaction chamber is provided on the flexible printed circuit board and connected to a control unit for controlling the heating and measuring current via conductors.

16. The cartridge of claim 1, wherein the biochip is connected to the flexible printed circuit board in the region of the heating conductor.

17. The cartridge of claim 16, wherein the heating conductor extends across a region which is larger than the biochip.

18. The cartridge of claim 1, wherein the cartridge is provided with a filling port including a check valve, and wherein the filling port communicates with the reaction chamber by means of a filling passage.

19. The cartridge of claim 18, wherein a self-contained communicating fluid passage is provided between the filling port and the equalization chamber.

20. The cartridge of claim 1, further comprising a cooling device equipped with a cooling piston which can be brought into contact with the reaction chamber in order to cool it.

21. The cartridge of claim 19, further comprising a cooling device equipped with a cooling piston which can be brought into contact with the reaction chamber in order to cool it.

22. The cartridge of claim 20, wherein the cooling device comprises a drive for the automatic movement of the cooling piston, wherein the drive enables the cooling piston to contact the flexible printed circuit board with a cooling surface.

23. A method for controlling a heated reaction chamber for processing a biochip, comprising providing a cartridge comprising an equalization chamber, an equalization passage and a reaction chamber, the reaction chamber communicating with the equalization chamber via the equalization passage, the equalization passage comprising a window,

wherein the reaction chamber comprises a flexible printed circuit board forming a boundary wall of the reaction chamber, wherein a conductor serving as a heating device is formed on the flexible printed circuit board, and

wherein a current for simultaneous heating and temperature measurement is made to flow through the conductor serving as a heating device in a heating phase.

24. The method of claim 23, wherein the temperature is measured with a scanning rate of at least 1000 Hz.

25. The method of claim 23, wherein the temperature is measured with a scanning rate of at least 3000 Hz.

26. The method of claim 23, wherein a proportional-integral controller is used within a preset temperature interval about a set temperature and a proportional controller is used outside the preset temperature interval.

27. The method of claim 23, wherein a control variable is determined from the difference between a set temperature and an actual temperature, wherein, when the control variable is less than a preset minimum, the cooling piston is pressed against the reaction chamber.

28. The method of claim 27, wherein if the control variable is less than zero and more than the minimum, the cooling piston is set at a distance from the reaction chamber.

29. The method of claim 27, wherein the reaction chamber is heated if the control variable is more than zero.