Apparatus and method for monitoring molecular species within a medium
First Claim
1. A method for monitoring information in a medium, the medium comprising at least one biomolecule, the method comprising the steps of:
- screening the medium with a screening means comprising a n number of sensing probes, where n is an integer of at least one so that more than one physical, chemical, or physico-chemical change which defines the information is detected by the probe to produce at least one signal output;
transferring the signal output to a signal processing means responsive to differences in electromagnetic properties of the signal for generating a final output;
receiving the final output into a pattern recognition means sufficient to generate a measurement pattern of the information being operable to define a set of class boundaries; and
sorting the information in accordance with the class boundaries representative of the presence and preferably quantitative amounts of biomolecule in the medium.
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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.
51 Citations
36 Claims
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1. A method for monitoring information in a medium, the medium comprising at least one biomolecule, the method comprising the steps of:
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screening the medium with a screening means comprising a n number of sensing probes, where n is an integer of at least one so that more than one physical, chemical, or physico-chemical change which defines the information is detected by the probe to produce at least one signal output;
transferring the signal output to a signal processing means responsive to differences in electromagnetic properties of the signal for generating a final output;
receiving the final output into a pattern recognition means sufficient to generate a measurement pattern of the information being operable to define a set of class boundaries; and
sorting the information in accordance with the class boundaries representative of the presence and preferably quantitative amounts of biomolecule in the medium. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 28, 29, 35, 36)
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27. An apparatus for analyzing at least one biomolecule in a medium, comprising:
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a multivariate detector having at least one of a sensing probe, sensing location, or physicochemical property, said multivariate detector capable of detecting at least the biomolecule, a byproduct, or a secondary product thereof, and discriminating the biomolecule, the byproduct, or the secondary product from the medium;
transmission means, capable of transmitting a signal between the multivariate detector 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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30. A process controller for controlling a biological replication process, comprising:
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a multisensor array having more than one sensing location capable of detecting a nucleotide or polynucleotide, discriminating the nucleotide or polynucleotide from the 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 biological replication process. - View Dependent Claims (31)
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32. An apparatus for screening at least one of a cell, bacteria, a bacteriophage, or a virus in a medium, comprising:
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a multisensor array having at least one sensing location capable of detecting a nucleotide or polynucleotide that is extracted from the bacteria, bacteriophage, or virus;
means for discriminating the nucleotide or polynucleotide from the medium;
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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33. An apparatus for analyzing at least one of a cell, a bacteria, a bacteriophage, or a virus in a medium, comprising:
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a multisensor array with more than one sensing location, the array capable of detecting a molecule created or modified by the bacteria, the bacteriophage, or the virus, discriminating the molecule from the medium, 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. - View Dependent Claims (34)
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Specification