Conductance detection system and method
First Claim
1. A conductance detector for detecting conductivity and/or dielectric constant of one or more chemical and/or biological species in a phase, comprising:
- a cell structure includinga rigid architecture having a top surface a portion of which is electrically conductive forming a first conductive component;
a second conductive component substantially overlapping the first conductive component and spaced from said first conductive component by an insulating component;
one or more flow pathways between the first conductive component and the second conductive component for the chemical and/or biological species to flow;
the first conductive component, the second conductive component and the insulating component having an architecture selected to givea cross sectional area over which a displacement current and/or external current flows that is on an order of about 1 cm2; and
a distance over which the displacement current and/or external current flows that is in a range from about nanometer to hundreds of microns and even higher;
a power supply for generating a time dependent electrical signal for inducing a time dependent response, the power supply being coupled to at least one of said first and second conductive components;
a signal detector coupled to at least one of said first and second conductive components for measuring the time dependent response; and
a microprocessor connected to said signal detector for determining changes in conductance caused by a presence of said chemical and/or biological species in said phase.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A detection system and method for detecting one or a plurality of species from a mixture of species in a phase. The detection system and method detect changes in conductance induced by the species. The conductance includes a cell structure having a rigid architecture having a top surface a portion of which is electrically conductive forming a first conductive component. A second conductive component substantially overlaps the first conductive component and is spaced from the first conductive component by an insulating component. One or more flow pathways exist between the first conductive component and the second conductive component for the chemical and/or biological species to flow. A time dependent electrical signal for inducing a time dependent response is applied to at least one of said first and second conductive components and a signal detector coupled to at least one of the first and second conductive components measures the time dependent response.
23 Citations
30 Claims
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1. A conductance detector for detecting conductivity and/or dielectric constant of one or more chemical and/or biological species in a phase, comprising:
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a cell structure including a rigid architecture having a top surface a portion of which is electrically conductive forming a first conductive component; a second conductive component substantially overlapping the first conductive component and spaced from said first conductive component by an insulating component; one or more flow pathways between the first conductive component and the second conductive component for the chemical and/or biological species to flow; the first conductive component, the second conductive component and the insulating component having an architecture selected to give a cross sectional area over which a displacement current and/or external current flows that is on an order of about 1 cm2; and a distance over which the displacement current and/or external current flows that is in a range from about nanometer to hundreds of microns and even higher; a power supply for generating a time dependent electrical signal for inducing a time dependent response, the power supply being coupled to at least one of said first and second conductive components; a signal detector coupled to at least one of said first and second conductive components for measuring the time dependent response; and a microprocessor connected to said signal detector for determining changes in conductance caused by a presence of said chemical and/or biological species in said phase. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. A conductance detector for detecting conductivity and/or dielectric constant of one or more chemical and/or biological species dispersed in a phase and separated by an integrated substantially planar gel electrophoresis apparatus, comprising:
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a first rigid architecture having a top surface a portion of which is electrically conductive forming a first conductive component, the first component being insulated from the phase; a second conductive component, the second component being insulated from the phase; a gel component through which displacement current generated by the first or second conductive components flows; flow pathways through the gel component for the chemical and/or biological species to flow; a power supply for generating a time dependent electrical signal for inducing a time dependent response, the power supply being coupled to at least one of said first and second conductive components; a signal detector coupled to at least one of said first and second conductive components for measuring the time dependent response; and a processor connected to said signal detector configured to determine changes in conductance caused by a presence of said chemical and/or biological species. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20, 21)
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22. A method for detecting conductivity and/or dielectric constant of one or more chemical and/or biological species in a phase, comprising:
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flowing a phase being tested for the one or more chemical and/or biological species through a cell structure, the cell structure including a rigid architecture having a first electrically conductive component separated from a second conductive component by an insulating component, one or more flow pathways between the first conductive component and the second conductive component for the chemical and/or biological species to flow, the first conductive component, the second conductive component and the insulating component having an architecture selected to give a cross sectional area over which a displacement current and/or external current flows that is on an order of about 1 cm2; and a distance over which the displacement current and/or external current flows that is in a range from about nanometer to hundreds of microns and even higher; applying a time dependent electrical signal to at least one of said first and second conductive components for inducing a time dependent response; and measuring the time dependent response and determining from said time dependent response any changes in conductance caused by a presence of said chemical and/or biological species in said phase. - View Dependent Claims (23, 24, 25, 26, 27)
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28. A method for detecting conductivity and/or dielectric constant of one or more chemical and/or biological species dispersed in a phase and separated by an integrated substantially planar gel electrophoresis apparatus, comprising:
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flowing said phase containing the one or more chemical and/or biological species through a substantially planar electrophoresis gel component which is located between a first electrically conductive component, the first electrically component being insulated from the phase and a second electrically conductive component, the second electrically component being insulated from the phase; a gel component through which displacement current generated by the first or second conductive components flows; flow pathways through the gel component for the chemical and/or biological species to flow; applying a time dependent electrical signal for inducing a time dependent response at least one of said first and second conductive components wherein a displacement current is generated by the first or second conductive components flows; measuring the time dependent response and processing the measured time dependent response for determining changes in conductance caused by a presence of said chemical and/or biological species in said phase. - View Dependent Claims (29, 30)
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Specification