Apparatus, methods and processes for sorting particles and for providing sex-sorted animal sperm
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A multi-channel system for sorting particles according to one or more characteristics of the particles, said system comprising:
- multiple flow cytometry units each of which is operable to sort a desired population of particles in a mixture of particles by interrogating a stream of fluid containing said particles using a beam of electromagnetic radiation, said units sharing an integrated platform comprising at least one of the following elements;
(1) a common supply of particles;
(2) a common source of electromagnetic radiation;
(3) a common housing;
(4) a common input for controlling operation of the units;
(5) a common processor for receiving and processing information from the units; and
(6) a common fluid delivery system for delivering fluid containing said particles to said flow cytometry units.
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Abstract
A flow cytometry system (1) for sorting haploid cells, specifically irradiatable sperm cells, with an intermittingly punctuated radiation emitter (56). Embodiments include a beam manipulator (21) and even split radiation beams directed to multiple nozzles (5). Differentiation of sperm characteristics with increased resolution may efficiently allow differentiated sperm cells to be separated higher speeds and even into subpopulations having higher purity.
184 Citations
143 Claims
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1. A multi-channel system for sorting particles according to one or more characteristics of the particles, said system comprising:
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multiple flow cytometry units each of which is operable to sort a desired population of particles in a mixture of particles by interrogating a stream of fluid containing said particles using a beam of electromagnetic radiation, said units sharing an integrated platform comprising at least one of the following elements;
(1) a common supply of particles;
(2) a common source of electromagnetic radiation;
(3) a common housing;
(4) a common input for controlling operation of the units;
(5) a common processor for receiving and processing information from the units; and
(6) a common fluid delivery system for delivering fluid containing said particles to said flow cytometry units. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 127)
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19. (omitted)
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28. A multi-channel method of sorting particles according to one or more characteristics of the particles, said method comprising:
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providing a plurality of flow cytometry units;
operating said flow cytometry units to conduct a plurality of flow cytometry operations, said operations comprising forming separate fluid streams each containing a mixture of particles, and sorting desired populations of particles in said mixtures of particles by interrogating the streams using beams of electromagnetic radiation; and
sharing at least one of the following elements while conducting said operations;
(1) a common supply of particles for said streams;
(2) a common source of electromagnetic radiation for said beams;
(3) a common operations control input;
(4) a common processor for receiving and processing information from the units;
(5) a common system for delivering fluid to said streams; and
(6) a common housing for said flow cytometry units. - View Dependent Claims (29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44)
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45. A multi-channel system for classifying particles according to one or more characteristics of the particles, said system comprising:
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a plurality of flow cytometry units each of which is operable to classify particles in a mixture of particles by interrogating a stream of fluid containing said particles using a beam of electromagnetic radiation, said units sharing an integrated platform comprising at least one of the following elements;
(1) a common supply of particles;
(2) a common housing;
(3) a common input for controlling operation of the units;
(4) a common processor for receiving and processing information from the units; and
(5) a common fluid delivery system for delivering fluid containing said particles to said flow cytometry units. - View Dependent Claims (46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64)
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65. A multi-channel method of classifying particles according to one or more characteristics of the particles, said method comprising:
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providing a plurality of flow cytometry units;
operating said flow cytometry units to conduct a plurality of flow cytometry operations, said operations comprising forming separate fluid streams each containing a mixture of particles, and classifying particles in said mixtures of particles by interrogating the streams using beams of electromagnetic radiation; and
sharing at least one of the following elements to conduct said operations;
(1) a common supply of particles for said streams;
(2) a common operations control input;
(3) a common processor for receiving and processing information from the units;
(4) a common system for delivering fluid to said streams; and
(5) a common housing for said flow cytometry units. - View Dependent Claims (66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80)
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81. A multi-channel system for sorting particles according to one or more characteristics of the particles, said system comprising:
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multiple flow cytometry units each of which is operable to sort a desired population of particles in a mixture of particles by interrogating a stream of fluid containing said particles using a beam of electromagnetic radiation, said units sharing a common resource comprising at least one of the following elements;
a (1) common supply of particles;
(2) a common source of electromagnetic radiation;
(3) a common processor for receiving and processing information from the units; and
(4) a common fluid delivery system for delivering fluid containing said particles to said flow cytometry units. - View Dependent Claims (82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 88, 89, 90, 91, 92, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98, 99, 100, 101, 102)
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103. A multi-channel method of sorting particles according to one or more characteristics of the particles, said method comprising:
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providing a plurality of flow cytometry units;
operating said flow cytometry units to conduct a plurality of flow cytometry operations, said operations comprising forming separate fluid streams each containing a mixture of particles, and sorting desired populations of particles in said mixtures of particles by interrogating the streams using beams of electromagnetic radiation; and
sharing at least one of the following elements while conducting said operations;
(1) a common supply of particles for said streams;
(2) a common source of electromagnetic radiation for said beams;
(3) a common processor for receiving and processing information from the units; and
(4) a common system for delivering fluid to said streams. - View Dependent Claims (104, 105, 106, 107, 108, 109, 110, 111, 112, 113, 114)
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115. A multi-channel system for analyzing particles according to one or more characteristics of the particles, said system comprising:
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a plurality of flow cytometry units each of which is operable to analyze particles in a mixture of particles by interrogating a stream of fluid containing said particles using a beam of electromagnetic radiation, said units sharing a common resource comprising at least one of the following elements;
(1) a common supply of particles;
(2) a common processor for receiving and processing information from the units; and
(3) a common fluid delivery system for delivering fluid containing said particles to said flow cytometry units. - View Dependent Claims (116, 117, 118, 119, 120, 121, 122, 123, 124, 125, 126, 128, 129, 130, 131)
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132. A multi-channel method of analyzing particles according to one or more characteristics of the particles, said method comprising:
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providing a plurality of flow cytometry units;
operating said flow cytometry units to conduct a plurality of flow cytometry operations, said operations comprising forming separate fluid streams each containing a mixture of particles, and analyzing particles in said mixtures of particles by interrogating the streams using beams of electromagnetic radiation; and
sharing at least one of the following elements to conduct said operations;
(1) a common supply of particles for said streams;
(2) a common processor for receiving and processing information from the units; and
(3) a common system for delivering fluid to said streams. - View Dependent Claims (133, 134, 135, 136, 137, 138, 139, 140, 141, 142, 143)
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Specification