Biological testing with sawtooth-shaped prisms
First Claim
1. An apparatus for determining the presence of analytes in a sample, the apparatus comprising:
- a transparent substrate with top and bottom surfaces spaced apart a distance d and formed of a material having an index of refraction n, wherein the substrate bottom surface includes a sawtooth prism having a cross-sectional sawtooth configuration comprising a light input portion and a light output portion which are mirror images of each other about a center line of the sample, and wherein the sawtooth prism has a height H, a pitch P, and an angle θ
between an entry face and the plane of the substrate top surface according to the equation H=P sin θ
cos θ
.
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Accused Products
Abstract
In one embodiment, an apparatus is provided for testing for the presence of analytes in a sample. The apparatus comprises a source of light directed at the bottom surface of a substrate to achieve total internal reflection and to generate an evanescent field. An array of capture elements is immobilized on the top surface of the substrate. The bottom surface of the substrate is configured as a sawtooth (in cross section), the “teeth” aligned with the rows or the columns in the array. The outer faces of the sawtooth “prisms” are non-parallel to the substrate top surface, and specific requirements are imposed on the prism light-entrance face, and the substrate thickness and refractive index.
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Citations
25 Claims
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1. An apparatus for determining the presence of analytes in a sample, the apparatus comprising:
a transparent substrate with top and bottom surfaces spaced apart a distance d and formed of a material having an index of refraction n, wherein the substrate bottom surface includes a sawtooth prism having a cross-sectional sawtooth configuration comprising a light input portion and a light output portion which are mirror images of each other about a center line of the sample, and wherein the sawtooth prism has a height H, a pitch P, and an angle θ
between an entry face and the plane of the substrate top surface according to the equation H=P sin θ
cos θ
.- View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. An apparatus comprising:
a substrate having a top surface for placement of a sample and a bottom surface, wherein the bottom surface has a consecutive tooth-shaped geometry with teeth arranged in rows and columns, with consecutive teeth in a column abutting one another to form a sawtooth configuration comprising a light input portion and a light output portion which are minor images of each other about a center line of the sample and with adjacent teeth in a row being in alignment with one another. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25)
Specification