Instrument for monitoring polymerase chain reaction of DNA
First Claim
1. An instrument comprising:
- an apparatus configured to hold a plurality of spaced-apart reaction regions;
a light source configured to direct an excitation beam toward the apparatus;
a detector configured to receive emission beams from the apparatus;
an excitation beam path disposed from the light source to the apparatus;
an emission beam path disposed from the apparatus to the detector; and
a lens disposed along the excitation beam path and along the emission beam path, the lens configured to direct the excitation beam to more than one of the reaction regions simultaneously.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An optical instrument monitors PCR replication of DNA in a reaction apparatus having a temperature cycled block with vials of reaction ingredients including dye that fluoresces in presence of double-stranded DNA. A beam splitter passes an excitation beam to the vials to fluoresce the dye. An emission beam from the dye is passed by the beam splitter to a CCD detector from which a processor computes DNA concentration. A reference strip with a plurality of reference emitters emit reference beams of different intensity, from which the processor selects an optimum emitter for compensating for drift. Exposure time is automatically adjusted for keeping within optimum dynamic ranges of the CCD and processor. A module of the beam splitter and associated optical filters is associated with selected dye, and is replaceable for different dyes.
148 Citations
27 Claims
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1. An instrument comprising:
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an apparatus configured to hold a plurality of spaced-apart reaction regions; a light source configured to direct an excitation beam toward the apparatus; a detector configured to receive emission beams from the apparatus; an excitation beam path disposed from the light source to the apparatus; an emission beam path disposed from the apparatus to the detector; and a lens disposed along the excitation beam path and along the emission beam path, the lens configured to direct the excitation beam to more than one of the reaction regions simultaneously. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. An instrument comprising:
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an apparatus having a surface configured to hold a plurality of spaced-apart reaction regions; a light source configured to generate an excitation beam; a detector configured to detect emission beams from the apparatus; an excitation beam path disposed from the light source to the surface of the apparatus; an emission beam path disposed from the surface of the apparatus to the detector; and a lens disposed along the excitation beam path and the emission beam path, the lens configured to direct the excitation beam to the surface configured to hold a plurality of spaced-apart reaction regions; wherein said lens is configured to simultaneously illuminate a plurality of spaced-apart reaction regions. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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20. An instrument comprising:
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an apparatus having a portion configured to hold a plurality of spaced-apart reaction regions; a light source configured to direct an excitation beam toward the portion; a detector configured to receive emission beams from the portion; and a lens configured to direct the excitation beam to the portion, to illuminate more than one reaction region simultaneously, and to direct emission beams from the portion to the detector to produce data signals. - View Dependent Claims (21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27)
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Specification