Claims
- 1. A method of performing biochemical assays, comprising:
loading a first plurality of reservoirs on a first liquid carrier with a first plurality of compounds; coupling a second carrier with the first carrier, the second carrier having a second plurality of reservoirs configured to couple with the first plurality of reservoirs and containing a second plurality of compounds; transferring at least a portion of the first plurality of compounds to the second plurality of reservoirs; and separating at least one component from the second plurality of reservoirs.
- 2. The method of claim 1, wherein said separating at least one component from the second plurality of reservoirs comprises:
coupling a capture carrier having a plurality of protrusions with the second carrier such that each protrusion is inserted into one of the second plurality of reservoirs, each protrusion on the capture carrier having a capture component for capturing a target molecule; and decoupling the capture carrier from the second carrier, wherein at least one of the capture components has captured a target molecule from at least one reservoir in the second plurality of reservoirs.
- 3. The method of claim 2, further comprising:
coupling the capture carrier with a third carrier having a third plurality of reservoirs configured to receive the protrusions on the capture carrier.
- 4. The method of claim 3, further comprising:
reacting at least one target molecule captured by the capture carrier with a reagent contained in the the third plurality of reservoirs.
- 5. The method of claim 3, further comprising:
releasing at least one target molecule into at least one reservoir from the third plurality of reservoirs.
- 6. The method of claim 2, further comprising detecting the presence of the captured target molecule on the capture carrier.
- 7. The method of claim 1, wherein:
each reservoir in the second plurality of reservoirs comprises a through-hole containing a capture probe configured to capture a target molecule; and said separating at least one component from the second plurality of reservoirs comprises:
capturing at least one target molecule with at least one of the capture probes; and flushing at least a portion of the contents of the second plurality of reservoirs while retaining at least one capture probe with the target molecule in the second carrier.
- 8. The method of claim 1, further comprising:
reacting the separated component with a reagent; and detecting the reaction of the separated component with the reagent.
- 9. A method of performing biochemical analysis, comprising:
coupling a first carrier with a second carrier, the first carrier having a plurality of protrusions, each protrusion being provided with a capture component, and the second carrier having a plurality of reservoirs containing a plurality of compounds and being configured such that each of the plurality of reservoirs receives at least one of the protrusions; uncoupling the first carrier from the second carrier; and retrieving at least one target component from the plurality of reservoirs with at least one capture component.
- 10. The method of claim 9, wherein:
for each of the plurality of protrusions, said capture component is a cavity formed on a portion of the protrusion; and said retrieving the at least one target component comprises drawing a volume of the target component into at least one of the cavities.
- 11. The method of claim 9, wherein:
for each of the plurality of protrusions, said capture component is a probe attached to a portion of the protrusion; and said retrieving the at least one target component comprises linking at least one target component to at least one of the probes.
- 12. The method of claim 11, further comprising:
loading an addressing component into each of the plurality of reservoirs, said addressing component comprising a capture probe and a tag; capturing the at least one target component with at least one capture probe; and binding at least one tag with at least one probe.
- 13. The method of claim 11, further comprising:
loading a detection component into each of the plurality of reservoirs, said detection component comprising a detection probe and a label; binding at least one detection probe with the at least one target component; and after said retrieving the at least one target component, detecting the presence of at least one label.
- 14. The method of claim 9, wherein:
said coupling the first carrier with the second carrier comprises coupling at least two of the protrusions with each of the plurality of the reservoirs.
- 15. The method of claim 14, wherein:
said retrieving at least one target component from the second carrier comprises retrieving a first target component with a first capture component and retrieving a second target component with a second capture component in the same reservoir.
- 16. A system for biochemical analysis, comprising:
a first carrier, comprising:
a first substrate; a plurality of reservoirs in the substrate for retaining a first plurality of compounds; and a second carrier, comprising:
a second substrate; a plurality of projections on the second substrate, each projection having a distal end provided with a receiving feature for receiving a component from the plurality of reservoirs when the first carrier and the second carrier are coupled.
- 17. The system of claim 16, wherein the receiving feature is a cavity configured to retain a liquid compound.
- 18. The system of claim 16, wherein the receiving feature is a capture reagent immobilized on the distal end of the projection, said capture reagent being adapted to selectively bind to a target compound.
- 19. The system of claim 16, further comprising:
a third carrier, comprising:
a third substrate; a plurality of projections on the third substrate, each projection having a distal end provided with a projection reservoir for delivering a reagent to the plurality of reservoirs when the first carrier and the third carrier are coupled.
- 20. The system of claim 19, wherein the projection reservoir is a cavity configured to retain a liquid reagent.
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This disclosure claims the benefit of priority to the following U.S. applications: U.S. Application Serial No. 60/336,461, entitled “Single Use XHTS Chip” by Shiping Chen, filed Nov. 14, 2001; U.S. Application Serial No. 60/357,275, entitled “Reagent Metering” by Shiping Chen, filed Feb. 15, 2002; U.S. Application Serial No. 60/362,858, entitled “Method and Apparatus for Picoliter Precision Assays” by Shiping Chen, filed Mar. 7, 2002; U.S. Application Serial No. 60/376,813, entitled “Additional Method and Apparatus for Picoliter Precision Assays” by Shiping Chen, filed Apr. 29, 2002; U.S. Application Serial No. 60/379,336, entitled “Additional Method and Apparatus for Picoliter Precision Assays” by Shiping Chen et al., filed May 9, 2002; U.S. Application Serial No. 60/382,309, entitled “Methods and Apparatus for Heterogeneous and Other Assays” by Shiping Chen et al., filed May 20, 2002; U.S. Application Serial No. 60/393,635, entitled “Additional Methods and Apparatus for Heterogeneous and Other Assays” by Shiping Chen et al., filed Jul. 3, 2002; U.S. Application Serial No. 60/400,652, entitled “Miniaturized Heterogeneous Assay Formats for High Throughput Screening” by Theo Nikiforov, filed Aug. 2, 2002; U.S. Application Serial No. 60/400,218, entitled “Parallel Picoliter Synthesis” by Shiping Chen et al., filed Jul. 31, 2002; U.S. Application Serial No. 60/400,630, entitled “Additional Methods and Apparatus for Heterogeneous and Other Assays” by Theo Nikiforov et al., filed Aug. 2, 2002; U.S. Application Serial No. 60/405,314, entitled “Biochemical Analysis System” by Shiping Chen et al., filed Aug. 21, 2002; and U.S. Application Serial No. 60/409,296, entitled “Biochemical Analysis System with Combinatorial Chemistry Applications” by Shiping Chen et al., filed Sep. 6, 2002. All of the above applications are incorporated by reference herein in their entireties as if fully set forth below for all purposes.
Provisional Applications (12)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
|
60336461 |
Nov 2001 |
US |
|
60357275 |
Feb 2002 |
US |
|
60362858 |
Mar 2002 |
US |
|
60376813 |
Apr 2002 |
US |
|
60379336 |
May 2002 |
US |
|
60382309 |
May 2002 |
US |
|
60393635 |
Jul 2002 |
US |
|
60400652 |
Aug 2002 |
US |
|
60400218 |
Jul 2002 |
US |
|
60400630 |
Aug 2002 |
US |
|
60405314 |
Aug 2002 |
US |
|
60409296 |
Sep 2002 |
US |