Polynucleotide capture materials, and systems using same

Information

  • Patent Grant
  • 11254927
  • Patent Number
    11,254,927
  • Date Filed
    Tuesday, June 2, 2020
    4 years ago
  • Date Issued
    Tuesday, February 22, 2022
    2 years ago
Abstract
Methods for processing polynucleotide-containing biological samples, and materials for capturing polynucleotide molecules such as RNA and/or DNA from such samples. The RNA and/or DNA is captured by polyamindoamine (PAMAM (Generation 0)) bound to a surface, such as the surface of magnetic particles. The methods and materials have high efficiency of binding RNA and of DNA, and of release, and thereby permit quantitative determinations.
Description
TECHNICAL FIELD

The technology described herein generally relates to methods for processing biological samples, and more particularly relates to materials for capturing polynucleotide molecules such as RNA and DNA from such samples, and permitting quantitative determination thereof.


BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Field of the Invention

The analysis of a biological sample such as a clinical sample or a test sample of food, for presence of a pathogen such as a virus, or to determine the presence of a particular gene, will typically include detecting one or more polynucleotides present in the sample. One type of detection is qualitative detection, which relates to a determination of the presence or absence of a target polynucleotide and/or the determination of information related to, for example, the type, size, presence or absence of mutations, and/or the sequence of the target polynucleotide. Another type of detection is quantitative detection, which relates to a determination of the amount of a particular polynucleotide present in the sample, expressed for example as a concentration or as an absolute amount by weight or volume. Detection may also include both qualitative and quantitative aspects. Quantitative detection is typically, however, a more challenging pursuit than is a simple qualitative determination of presence or absence of a polynucleotide.


Detecting polynucleotides often involves the use of an enzyme. For example, some detection methods include polynucleotide amplification by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) or a related amplification technique. Other detection methods that do not amplify the polynucleotide to be detected also make use of enzymes. However, the functioning of enzymes used in such techniques may be inhibited by the presence of materials (known as inhibitors) that accompany the polynucleotide in many biological—particularly clinical—samples. The inhibitors may interfere with, for example, the efficiency and/or the specificity of the enzymes.


Polynucleotide detection today is moving towards ever more rapid, and ever more sensitive techniques. For example, rapid and accurate diagnosis of viral infections is invaluable for accurate patient management by directing the administration of appropriate antiviral therapy, eliminating the unnecessary utilization of antibiotics and monitoring individual response to the prescribed regimen. Given its significant advantages of sensitivity, specificity and time to result, polynucleotide detection (or nucleic acid testing) has become the presumptive international standard for viral diagnosis.


However, the application of nucleic acid testing to routine diagnosis of viral targets has been limited to large clinical reference labs and major hospital labs due to the high cost, complexity and skill level requirements for implementing such testing. While significant improvements have been made in recent years, the successful detection of RNA viruses in particular requires extremely laborious extraction procedures frequently relying on the use of toxic chemicals. Furthermore, RNA molecules can be very unstable and hence can require delicate processing/handling during their determination. These issues to date have been overcome with the use of large, expensive, time consuming robotic equipment.


With the current demands on practice of medicine, laboratories that carry out diagnostic testing on patient samples see substantial benefits from having extremely high throughput, which in itself is assisted if the time to arrive at a diagnostic outcome for a given sample is made as short as possible. Testing may also be made more rapid if the actual sample on which the tests are run is made as small as possible. More recently, there has been a growing need for a small, easy to use, low-cost, automated platform for the extraction of high quality RNA from viral targets in clinical specimens.


Correspondingly, then, the need to be able to isolate minute quantities of polynucleotides from complex biological samples in a manner that effectively avoids the presence of, or reduces the detrimental impact of, inhibitors is ever more important. Furthermore, given the availability of various stand-alone automated amplification apparatuses, it is desirable to be able to routinely and reliably extract from a raw clinical sample a quantity of polynucleotide that is ready—in terms of purity and quantity—for amplification.


The discussion of the background herein is included to explain the context of the technology. This is not to be taken as an admission that any of the material referred to was published, known, or part of the common general knowledge as at the priority date of any of the claims found appended hereto.


Throughout the description and claims of the specification the word “comprise” and variations thereof, such as “comprising” and “comprises”, is not intended to exclude other additives, components, integers or steps.


SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The process and materials herein are applicable to a number of testing targets, in particular those that are RNA based, such as Influenza (A & B), RSV, HSV, CMV, Adenovirus, and Enterovirus.


The technology herein provides excellent RNA—as well as DNA—capture and recovery via use of micro-particles having a high RNA and DNA binding capacity, such as 100 μg/mg beads, and a >90% release efficiency. In exemplary embodiments, 8-10 μg RNA can be extracted from an overnight culture. Processes, as described herein, permit very fast (15-20 minutes including lysis) RNA extraction from cellular or viral material, via a single tube process. Processes, as described herein, comprise a streamlined procedure having fewer steps (such as six) to proceed from raw sample to purified RNA. Such processes therefore provide an extremely effective clean-up of RNA from raw biological samples, thereby permitting PCR to be performed thereon. The methods and processes are applicable across a wide variety of sample matrices, as well as clinical buffers used when collecting raw samples, e.g., M4, UTM, and Todd Hewit Broth.


Suitable targets, that have assays used in clinical testing, and that may be the subject of sample preparation processes as described herein, include, but are not limited to: Chlamydia Trachomatis (CT); Neisseria Gonorrhea (GC); Group B Streptococcus; HSV; HSV Typing; CMV; Influenza A & B; MRSA; RSV; TB; Trichomonas; Adenovirus; Bordatella; BK; JC; HHV6; EBV; Enterovirus; and M. pneumoniae.


One aspect of the present invention relates to a method for processing one or more RNA and/or DNA compounds (e.g., to concentrate the RNA and/or DNA compound(s) and/or to separate the RNA and/or DNA compound(s) from inhibitor compounds (e.g., hemoglobin, peptides, faecal compounds, humic acids, mucousol compounds, DNA binding proteins, or a saccharide) that might inhibit detection and/or amplification of the RNA and/or DNA compounds).


In some embodiments, the method includes contacting the sample containing the RNA and/or DNA compounds and PAMAM (Generation 0) that preferentially associates with (e.g., retains) the RNA and/or DNA compounds as opposed to inhibitors. The PAMAM (Generation 0) is typically bound to a surface (e.g., a surface of one or more particles). The PAMAM (Generation 0) retains the RNA and/or DNA compounds so that the RNA and/or DNA compounds and inhibitors may be separated, such as by washing the surface with the compound and associated RNA and/or DNA compounds. Upon separation, the association between the RNA and/or DNA compound and the PAMAM(Generation 0) may be disrupted to release (e.g., separate) the RNA and/or DNA compounds from the compound and surface.


The present disclosure provides for a method for isolating polynucleotides from a cell-containing sample, the method comprising: contacting the sample with a lysis solution and a plurality of binding particles coated in PAMAM(Generation 0), so that the polynucleotides are liberated from the cells and become bound to the PAMAM(Generation 0), thereby creating binding particles bound with polynucleotides and a solution containing residual cellular matter; compacting the binding particles bound with polynucleotides; removing the solution containing residual cellular matter; washing the binding particles; and releasing the polynucleotides from the binding particles.


The present disclosure further includes a process for concentrating RNA from a sample containing polymerase chain reaction inhibitors, the method comprising: contacting between 500 μl and 1 ml of the sample with a plurality of RNA binding particles, the binding particles configured to preferentially retain the RNA in the sample as compared to the polymerase chain reaction inhibitors; concentrating the plurality of particles having the one or more polynucleotides bound thereto into an effective volume between 50 nanoliters and 5 microliters; and releasing the one or more polynucleotides into <30 μl of solution.


The present disclosure still further includes a composition comprising: carboxyl modified microparticles; and PAMAM(Generation 0) bound via one or more amine groups per molecule to one or more of the carboxylic acid groups on the microparticles.


The present disclosure additionally includes a kit, comprising: a number of sealed tubes, each containing lysis buffer; a tube containing lyophilized microparticles having PAMAM(Generation 0) bound thereto; a tube containing liquid wash reagents, sufficient to analyze the number of samples; and a tube containing liquid release reagents, sufficient to analyze the number of samples, wherein each component of the kit is stored in an air-tight container.


The present disclosure still further includes a kit, comprising: a first air-tight pouch enclosing a number of tubes, each tube containing lyophilized microparticles having PAMAM(Generation 0) bound thereto; a second air-tight pouch enclosing a number of reagent holders, each holder comprising: a tube containing liquid lysis reagents; a tube containing liquid wash reagents; and a tube containing liquid release reagents.


The present disclosure additionally includes a method of making a polynucleotide retention member, the method comprising: washing a quantity of microspheres with carbonate and MES buffer; preparing sulfo-NHS and EDAC; incubating the microspheres with sulfo-NHS and EDAC for 30 minutes; washing the microspheres with MES and borate buffer; contacting the microspheres with PAMAM(0) for 8-10 hours; and rinsing unbound PAMAM(0) from the microspheres.





BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS


FIG. 1 shows schematically a typical process as described herein.



FIG. 2 shows schematically the action of DNA affinity beads as further described herein.



FIG. 3 shows PCR curves for EV13 RNA extraction from nasal swabs.



FIG. 4 shows PCR curves for EV13 RNA extraction in M4 media.



FIG. 5 shows a comparison of PCR curves from RNA extracted from a buffer to one obtained from plasma.



FIG. 6 shows RNA extraction using beads.



FIG. 7 shows RNA extraction from plasma.



FIG. 8 illustrates extraction sensitivity.



FIG. 9 shows a flow-chart for a process of making PAMAM(Generation 0) coated microparticles.





Like reference symbols in the various drawings indicate like elements.


DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Analysis of biological samples often includes determining whether one or more polynucleotides (e.g., a DNA, RNA, mRNA, or rRNA) is present in the sample. The technology described herein has applicability to determining both RNA and DNA that is present in a sample. For example, a sample may be analyzed to determine whether the RNA of a particular pathogen is present, and also whether DNA of another or the same pathogen is present. If present, the RNA or the DNA may together or separately be indicative of a corresponding disease or condition.


Accordingly, the technology described herein is directed to materials that bind polynucleotides, and use of such materials in isolating polynucleotides, such as DNA and RNA, from biological samples. The materials, in conjunction with methods of using the materials, provide for rapid and reliable extraction of RNA and DNA from many different types of biological samples, including quantitative determination of both the RNA and the DNA. Such methods are typically referred to as “sample preparation” methods. What is meant by such a term is the liberation, extraction, concentration, and/or isolation, of RNA and/or DNA of a target organism from a raw sample—such as obtained directly from a patient or an agricultural or food product—where the raw sample contains the target RNA and/or target DNA bound in cellular form. The liberated target RNA and/or target DNA is placed, at the culmination of the process, in a form suitable for amplification and/or detection.


The terms DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) and RNA (ribonucleic acid), and together as polynucleotides, as used herein can mean an individual molecule or population of molecules, such as identifiable by having a specific nucleotide sequence common to all, or can mean collectively molecules of DNA or RNA having different sequences from one another. For example, a biological sample from a human patient may contain DNA from the patient's cells, having one sequence, and DNA or RNA from cells of a pathogen, having a different sequence from that of the patient's DNA. The sample is thus referred to as containing DNA and RNA (or, together, polynucleotides), even though there are molecules of DNA (or RNA) in the sample that are different (chemically distinct) from one another. The methods herein can be used to liberate, collectively, molecules of DNA and RNA from both the patient's and the pathogen's cells in such a sample. Typically, however, in such an instance, it will usually be the DNA or RNA of the pathogen that will be of interest, and which will be selectively amplified from amongst all the DNA and RNA that is ultimately isolated from the sample. The DNA and RNA that is best suited for extraction by the methods herein has a size less than 7.5 Mbp, though it would be understood that larger DNA and RNA molecules may be susceptible to extraction and detection by the methods herein.


Typically, biological samples are complex mixtures. For example, a sample may be provided as a blood sample, a tissue sample (e.g., a swab of, for example, nasal, buccal, anal, or vaginal tissue), a biopsy aspirate, a lysate, as fungi, or as bacteria. The RNA and/or DNA to be determined is normally contained within particles (e.g., cells such as white blood cells, or red blood cells), tissue fragments, bacteria (e.g., gram positive bacteria, or gram negative bacteria), fungi, or spores. One or more liquids (e.g., water, a buffer, blood, blood plasma, saliva, urine, cerebral spinal fluid (CSF), or organic solvent) is typically part of the sample and/or is added to the sample during a processing step. The materials and methods described herein are compatible with a variety of clinical matrices, at least including blood, urine, CSF, swab, and plasma.


Methods for analyzing biological samples include releasing RNA and/or DNA from the particles (e.g., bacteria) in the sample, amplifying one or more of the released RNA and/or DNA (e.g., by polymerase chain reaction (PCR)), and determining the presence (or absence) of the amplified polynucleotide(s) (e.g., by fluorescence detection).


Clinical samples present a variety of challenges especially in the detection of target RNA and DNA through PCR or similar technologies. A target nucleic acid could be present in a concentration as low as 10 copies per milliliter as measured against a background of millions or billions of copies of competing nucleic acids (such as from a patient's normal cells). Moreover, a variety of other biochemical entities present in the clinical sample inhibit PCR. The inhibitors may also frustrate isolation of RNA or DNA from the sample, such as by being captured by a material designed to retain the RNA or DNA. If the concentration of inhibitors is not reduced relative to the RNA or DNA to be determined, the analysis can produce false negative results. Examples of these inhibitors, dependent upon the biological sample in question, are cellular debris such as membrane fragments, humic acids, mucousal compounds, hemoglobin, other proteins such as DNA binding proteins, salts, DNAases, fecal matter, meconium, urea, amniotic fluid, blood, lipids, saccharides, and polysaccharides. For example, such inhibitors can reduce the amplification efficiency of DNA and RNA by PCR and other enzymatic techniques for determining the presence of DNA and RNA.


Therefore, an effective sample preparation method should lead to a concentration of the target RNA or DNA, and should minimize presence of inhibitory substances. The methods described herein may increase the concentration of the DNA and/or RNA to be determined and/or reduce the concentration of inhibitors relative to the concentration of DNA and/or RNA to be determined.


In addition, cells of some target organisms, such as gram positive bacteria (e.g. Group B Strep), are very hard to lyse, meaning that lysing conditions can be very severe. Such organisms may require additional chemicals for lysing, such as mutanolysin, and may also require higher temperatures for optimal lysis. Such conditions may be accommodated by the materials and methods described herein.


Sample Preparation Process


A typical sample preparation process may be carried out in a processing chamber that includes a plurality of particles (e.g., beads, microspheres) configured to retain RNA and/or DNA of the sample under a first set of conditions (e.g., a first temperature and/or first pH) and to release the RNA under a second set of conditions (e.g., a second, higher temperature and/or a second, more basic, pH), and to release DNA under a third set of conditions (e.g., a third, different temperature and/or a third, more basic, pH than that used in the first and second conditions). Typically, the DNA and RNA are retained preferentially as compared to inhibitors that may be present in the sample.


An exemplary sample preparation process is illustrated in FIG. 1. The various reagents referred to in connection with FIG. 1 are described in further detail elsewhere herein. At 100, a process tube 101, such as a standard laboratory 1.7 ml microcentrifuge tube, contains a biological sample comprising a liquid 109, such as an aqueous solution, and cellular materials 111, wherein at least some of the cellular materials may contain RNA and/or DNA of a target of interest. The biological sample may be any of those described elsewhere herein, and process tube 101 may be any tube or suitable vessel, as further described herein. It is to be understood that, although the process is illustrated with respect to FIG. 1, the process is not limited to be carried out in a tube. The sample and various reagents may be, for example, delivered to, and mixed and reacted within, chambers of a microfluidic device such as a microfluidic cartridge, as further described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/281,247, filed Nov. 16, 2005 and incorporated herein by reference.


A first pipette tip 103 contains a solution 107 of microparticles 105, that are delivered to the process tube and contacted with the biological sample contained therein. The surfaces of particles 105 are modified to have PAMAM(0) attached, as further described herein, so that they retain RNA and/or DNA in preference to inhibitors in solution. Solution 107 may be a lysis solution, as further described herein. The lysis solution may contain a detergent, in addition to various enzymes, as described elsewhere herein. Thorough mixing of the microparticles, the solution, and the biological sample may occur simply by turbulent combination of the two solutions upon release of the microparticle containing solution from the pipette tip, or may occur via mechanical or manual agitation of process tube 101.


First pipette tip 103 is positioned above process chamber 101, such as by manual operation by a user, or such as by an automated pipetting head, an example of which is described in U.S. provisional patent application Ser. No. 60/959,437, filed Jul. 13, 2007, which is incorporated herein by reference.


At 110, using the same process tube 101, the microparticles, biological sample, and lysis reagents are incubated, such as by applying heat from an external source, as shown, so that the cells in the biological sample are lysed, and liberate RNA and/or DNA. Under these conditions, the DNA molecules bind to suitably configured surfaces of the micro-particles, as further described herein. Typically, the particles retain RNA and/or DNA from liquids having a pH about 9.5 or less (e.g., about 9.0 or less, about 8.75 or less, about 8.5 or less). It is to be noted that the binding of DNA to the affinity microparticles happens concurrently with the lysis process, and the binding is not adversely affected by the presence of detergents and, in some instances, lytic enzymes in the lysis solution. The choice of temperature is dictated by what is required to lyse the cells in question, and heat is not required to effectuate binding of the RNA or DNA to the particles. Typically, those cells having tougher cell walls (e.g., lysteria, or anthrax) will require higher temperatures. For example, Chlamydia determination utilizes a temperature of 37° C. for a duration of 5-10 minutes for lysis and binding, whereas Group B Streptococcus determination utilizes a temperature of 60° C. for a duration of 5-10 minutes. Generally, the liquid is heated to a temperature insufficient to boil liquid in the presence of the particles.


At 120, the microparticles are concentrated or compacted, and the remaining solution containing residual cellular matter 125 is removed, for example by a second pipette tip 123. By compacted is meant that the microparticles, instead of being effectively uniformly distributed through a solution, are brought together at a single location in the process tube, in contact with one another. Where the microparticles are magnetic, compaction of the microparticles may be achieved by, for example, bringing a magnet 121 into close proximity to the outside of the process chamber 101, and moving the magnet up and down outside the chamber. The magnetic particles are attracted to the magnet and are drawn towards the inside of the wall of the process chamber adjacent the magnet.


Pipette tip 123 removes as much of the remaining solution (sometimes referred to as supernatant, or solution having residual cellular matter) as is practical without drawing up significant quantities of microparticles. Typically a pipette tip may slide into process chamber 105 without contacting the microparticles. In this way the microparticles are concentrated, by being present in a smaller volume of solution than hitherto. Pipette tip 123 may be a different tip from pipette tip 103, or may be the same tip. In some embodiments, after removal of the solution containing residual cellular matter, less than 10 microliters of solution is left along with the particles. Typically this is achieved by both compaction of the microparticles to a small pellet, but also positioning that pellet away from the location wherein the pipette will be introduced for removal of the supernatant. The positioning of the pipette in relation to the bottom of the tube is also important so that almost all of the supernatant is removed. The pipette tip should be almost close to the bottom of the tube (within 1-2 mm) but without completely sealing the pipette tip against the tube bottom. A stellated pattern may also be used at the bottom of the lysis tube, (as described in U.S. provisional patent application Ser. No. 60/959,437, filed Jul. 13, 2007, and incorporated herein by reference), but the positioning of the patterns in relation to the location of the magnet becomes important so that the sliding of the compacted microparticles is not hindered and the crevices between vertices of the stellated pattern do not trap microparticles.


At 130, a third pipette tip 133 delivers a wash solution 131 to the process chamber 101 containing compacted microparticles. The wash solution may comprise, e.g., a buffer such as Tris-EDTA with a surfactant such as 1% Triton X 100, and having an overall pH 8.0. Typically, the volume of wash buffer is 100 microliters or less, where the sample is 2 ml or less in volume. The wash solution is used to wash off any non-DNA and non-RNA molecules, such as inhibitors, that may have become bound to the microparticles. The wash solution is chosen to preferentially wash off non-RNA and non-DNA molecules while leaving in place those RNA and/or DNA molecules bound to the microparticles. Pipette tip 133 may be a different tip from either or both of pipette tips 103 and 123, or may be one of those tips being re-used.


In order to release the RNA and, separately, the DNA from the particles, the wash solution 131 is replaced with an alkaline (pH ˜9.0) release solution, e.g., a buffer solution having a pH different from that of the wash solution. This can be done by pipetting out as much of the wash solution as possible, for example, having a residual volume <5 microliters, and then dispensing release buffer with a new pipette tip. In case the same tip is used, the liquid should be completely drained off so as not to dilute the release solution. For example, at 140, a release solution 141 is delivered to process chamber 101 so that the RNA bound to the micro-particles can be liberated from those micro-particles. In general, the PAMAM(Generation 0) on the particles (as further described herein) most efficiently releases RNA when the pH is about 9. Consequently, RNA can be released from the particles into the surrounding liquid. In some instances, heat may be applied to the process tube, such as to heat the solution to 85° C., to facilitate release of the RNA. Generally, the liquid is heated to a temperature insufficient to boil liquid in the presence of the particles. In some embodiments, the temperature is 100° C. or less (e.g., less than 100° C., about 97° C. or less). In some embodiments, the temperature is about 65° C. or more (e.g., about 75° C. or more, about 80° C. or more, about 90° C. or more). In some embodiments, the temperature is maintained for about 1 minute or more (e.g., about 2 minutes or more, about 5 minutes or more, about 10 minutes or more). In some embodiments, the temperature is maintained for about 30 minutes (e.g., about 15 minutes or less, about 10 minutes or less, about 5 minutes or less). In some embodiments, the process tube is heated to between about 65 and 90° C. (e.g., to about 70° C.) for between about 1 and 7 minutes (e.g., for about 2 minutes). In other embodiments, the heating is to 85° C. for 3 minutes. In still other embodiments, the heating is to 65° C. for 6 minutes. In general, a longer heating time is required for a lower temperature. Alternatively, or in combination, particles with retained RNA are heated to release the RNA without assistance of a release solution. When heat alone is used to release the RNA, the release solution may be identical with the wash solution.


Typically, the RNA from a 2 ml sample, and according to the description of the lysis, binding, and washing described elsewhere therein, is released into about 20 microliters or less (e.g., about 10 microliters or less, about 5 microliters or less, or about 2.5 microliters or less) of liquid.


While releasing the RNA has been described as including heating, the RNA may be released without heating. For example, in some embodiments, the release solution has an ionic strength, pH, surfactant concentration, composition, or combination thereof that releases the RNA from the retention member without requiring heat.


It is to be noted that excessive shearing, such as is caused by rapid movements of the liquid during suck-and-dispense mixing operations during wash and release (typically during DNA release) in the sample preparation process may release PAMAM(Generation 0) from the surface of the particles, which itself causes downstream inhibition of PCR. The mixing steps should be limited to less than 10 suck-and-dispense operations, where the amount moved back and forth ranges from 1-20 microliters moved in the pipette, performed over 1-10 seconds per suck-and-dispense operations.


At 150 the microparticles, now having essentially no RNA bound thereto, can be compacted or concentrated in a similar manner to that described for 120, but in this case to facilitate removal of the release solution containing the RNA dissolved therein. For example, magnetic beads can be collected together on the interior of the process chamber wall by bringing magnet 121 into close proximity to the outside of the process chamber. In FIG. 1, magnet 121 is used to compact the microparticles at both stages 120 and 150, though it would be understood that a different magnet could be used in both instances.


In instances where a sample contains both RNA and DNA, and it is desired to determine both a particular RNA and a particular DNA, the procedures at 140 and 150, as described herein, may be repeated, using a second release solution that is designed to release DNA. As described further in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/172,208, filed on even date herewith, and entitled “POLYNUCLEOTIDE CAPTURE MATERIALS, AND METHODS OF USING SAME”, a solution designed to release DNA typically has a pH of about 12 or greater. Such a procedure relies on the fact that RNA and DNA have different pKa's and therefore will elute from the surface of a particle to which they are non-covalently bound, at different pH's from one another. Similar considerations, such as release conditions (temperature, reagent concentrations, etc.) apply to release of DNA as to RNA.


It is to be noted that, thus far, all of the processing steps have taken place in a single tube. This is advantageous for a number of reasons: first, that unnecessary liquid transfer steps will necessarily lead to some loss of target material. Additional liquid transfer steps will also add to the overall time of the protocol. It should be noted that performing all the liquid processing in a single tube is not an easy task primarily because of the residual volumes left between successive liquid transfers. It becomes even more difficult when the final elution volume is very low, such as less than 30 microliters, or less than 20 microliters or less than 10 microliters, or less than 5 microliters. Nevertheless, with the protocols described herein, very good yields may be obtained.


The RNA, and/or subsequently the DNA, liberated from the microparticles can each be drawn up into a fourth pipette tip 153 in solution in the release solution. Pipette tip 153 need not be different from all of pipette tips 103, 123, and 133 and may therefore represent a re-use of one of those tips. Although it is desirable to use magnetic beads, non-magnetic beads may also be used herein, and separated by, e.g., centrifugation, rather than by use of a magnet.


In certain embodiments, the ratio of the volume of original sample introduced into the processing tube to the volume of liquid into which the RNA or DNA is released is at least about 10 (e.g., at least about 50, at least about 100, at least about 250, at least about 500, at least about 1,000). In some embodiments, RNA or DNA from a sample having a volume of about 2 ml can be retained within the processing tube, and released, after binding and washing, into about 4 microliters or less (e.g., about 3 microliters or less, about 2 microliters or less, about 1 microliter or less) of liquid.


In some embodiments, the sample has a volume larger than the concentrated volume of the binding particles having the RNA or DNA bound thereto by a factor of at least about 10.


In other embodiments, the sample has a volume of 100 μ-1 ml, and the compacted particles occupy an effective volume of less than 2 microliters.


The liquid into which the RNA or DNA is released typically includes at least about 50% (e.g., at least about 75%, at least about 85%, at least about 90%, or at least about 95%) of the RNA or DNA respectively present in the sample 109. Thus, for example, ˜8-10 μg DNA can be liberated from 1 ml of overnight culture, and 2-4 μg DNA can be extracted from one buccal swab. The concentration of RNA or DNA present in the release liquid may be higher than the respective concentration in the original sample because the volume of release liquid is typically less than the volume of the original liquid sample. For example, the concentration of DNA in the release liquid may be at least about 10 times greater (e.g., at least about 25 times greater, at least about 100 times greater) than the concentration of DNA in the sample 109. The concentration of inhibitors present in the liquid into which the RNA or DNA is released is generally less than the concentration of inhibitors in the original fluidic sample by an amount sufficient to increase the amplification efficiency for the RNA or DNA over that which could be obtained from an unpurified sample.


In general, although the processes and materials described herein are capable of performing well—usually with only routine adaptation—over a wide range of sample sizes, and reagent volumes, for most practical applications (considering the size of most biological samples subject to diagnostic analysis), the volume of compacted particles having RNA and/or DNA bound thereto that results (prior to release) is in the range 2-3 μl, and is independent of the sample volume, up to about 2 ml of sample. Typically the quantity of microparticles required is determined by the quantity of RNA and/or DNA in the sample. It is found that, given the efficiency of binding to the particles, 0.5 mg of particles is sufficient for most manual applications, and most involving automated pipetting, regardless of sample size. Thus, for example, for samples having volumes from 0.5 microliters to 3 milliliters, the volume of the compacted particles is 2-3 μl. For example, for Chlamydia, the sample size is typically 1 ml, and 0.5 mg of particles is sufficient. For other applications, DNA from a 2 ml sample can also be extracted with 0.5 mg particles, or in some instances 1 mg beads can be used. For smaller samples, such as having a volume of 5 μl, it is still typical to use only 0.5 mg particles.


In order to agitate the solution at various stages during the manual process, the solution may be pipetted up and down a number of times, such as 10 times, 15 times, or 20 times. Such a procedure is acceptable during the release step as well as the wash steps. Vortexing also works for these steps. However, for the automated process, cannot tolerate any mix steps, the number of mixing operations is kept at a minimum as this was possibly causing some PAMAM(0) to come off and inhibit downstream PCR.


The process described herein represents an extremely effective clean-up of a sample in preparation for PCR and provides the capability to detect as few as 25 copies of RNA or DNA from 1 milliliter of clinical sample. The RNA or DNA is present in a high level of concentration because the elution volume can be as low as 3 microliters. There is also a low residual sample liquid and/or wash volume in the concentrated microspheres, thereby minimizing dilution by sample or wash buffer, as well as minimizing inhibition from residual sample.


The time interval between introducing the polynucleotide containing sample to processing tube 101, and releasing the RNA or DNA into the release liquid is usually between 10 and 30 minutes, and is typically about 15-20 minutes, or may be 15 minutes or less (e.g., about 10 minutes or less, about 5 minutes or less). These times include the lysis time (which doubles up as a sample-binding time), and are extremely fast. To release both RNA and DNA, separately, from a single sample, it is only necessary to add an additional release procedure, as in 140 in FIG. 1.


Optionally, at 160 in FIG. 1, the released RNA or DNA in solution may be neutralized by contacting it with a neutralization solution 165 (e.g., an equal volume of 25-50 mM Tris-HCl buffer pH 8.0). For example, the RNA or DNA in solution in pipette tip 153 may be released into a second process chamber, or vessel, 161 such as a standard laboratory PCR tube, in which the neutralization solution is present. The PCR tube may be removed and introduced into a PCR machine for further analysis. Typically, the solutions for extracting RNA are close enough to neutrality that a separate neutralization step is not required.


The RNA or DNA in solution in vessel 161 is in a state that it can be amplified, such as by PCR, and detected. Furthermore, the foregoing process steps are extremely reliable and robust, and enable quantitative assays of the extracted RNA or DNA over 7 log dilutions (10-107 copies of target RNA or DNA/ml of sample).


The process of FIG. 1 has demonstrated effectiveness in manual as well as automated formats.


The process shown in FIG. 1 may be carried out in conjunction with a reagent holder, in which the process chamber may be situated, and in which are found appropriate quantities of microparticles, lysis solution, wash solution, release solution, and neutralization solution, each of which is accessible to one or more pipette tips and for use as shown in FIG. 1. An exemplary reagent holder is described in U.S. provisional patent application Ser. No. 60/959,437, filed Jul. 13, 2007, and incorporated by reference herein.


Where a magnet is shown in FIG. 1 for use in compacting magnetic microparticles, a magnetic separator, as described in U.S. provisional patent application Ser. No. 60/959,437, filed Jul. 13, 2007, and incorporated by reference herein, may be used.


Where it is shown in FIG. 1 that heat may be applied to process chamber 101, a heater assembly, as described in U.S. provisional patent application Ser. No. 60/959,437, filed Jul. 13, 2007, and incorporated by reference herein, may be used.


The process shown in FIG. 1 is optimally used to prepare highly pure and concentrated RNA or DNA for use in low-volume (e.g. 4 μl) PCR reactions, such as may be carried out in a microfluidic cartridge, for example a microfluidic cartridge described in U.S. provisional patent application Ser. No. 60/959,437, filed Jul. 13, 2007, and incorporated herein by reference.



FIG. 2 shows, schematically, a sample preparation process at the molecular level. At 210, a typical magnetic particle 201, having a diameter of 1 μm, is shown. Attached to the surface of particle 201 are molecules 205 having a binding affinity for polynucleotides in solution surrounding the particle. Attachment of molecules 205 is usually via covalent bonds. Such molecules are further described herein and in some embodiments are molecules of PAMAM(Generation 0). From 210 to 220, the magnetic particle is incubated in a solution containing RNA and/or DNA, at a pH of 4-8, lower than the pKa of molecules 205. At 220, particle 201 is shown having polynucleotide (i.e., DNA and/or RNA) molecules 211 attached to the affinity molecules 205. Also shown are various other non-specifically bound substrates 213, denoted by small ovals, cigar-shapes, and curved lines.


Moving from 220 to 230 in FIG. 2, the particle 201, to which is bound both RNA and/or DNA molecules 211, and non-specifically bound molecules 213, is washed to remove the non-specifically bound substrates, leaving a particle coated in affinity molecules 205 and RNA and/or DNA molecules 211 bound thereto. From 230 to 240, the RNA and/or DNA molecules 211 are released from the surface of the particle by increasing the pH of the solution surrounding the particle to a pH of 9 (RNA) and, subsequently a pH of 12-13 (to release DNA). The released RNA and/or DNA molecules can be separately collected in a PCR-ready format.


While samples and various solutions have been described herein as having microliter scale volumes, other volumes can be used. For example, processing tubes with surfaces (e.g., particles) configured to preferentially retain RNA and/or DNA as opposed to inhibitors may have large volumes (e.g., many tens of microliters or more, at least about 1 milliliter or more).


In some embodiments, the processing tube has a bench-top scale, and other solutions are correspondingly scaled up.


Polynucleotide Capture Material


Suitable polynucleotide affinity molecules are those that offer a very high density of positively ionizable charges at a low pH, and enable strong attraction and binding of polynucleotides, including RNA and DNA from a clinical lysate, within a few minutes.


A typical embodiment of the materials herein uses: Polyamidoamine (PAMAM) Generation 0, available from the Sigma-Aldrich Chemical Company (“Sigma-Aldrich”), product number 412368. This material, referred to hereinafter as “PAMAM(Generation 0)” or “PAMAM(0)” of “PAMAM(G0)”, is a dendrimer whose molecules have the following structure.




embedded image


The core of the molecule is an ethylene diamine substituted twice on both nitrogen atoms by an acetyl group. Each acetyl group has itself reacted with ethylene diamine monomers to yield amino-substituted amide groups.


The form of PAMAM(0) suitable for use herein is not limited to that product available from Sigma-Aldrich, however. PAMAM(0), being dendrimeric in nature, admits of a wide range of forms, controlled at least in part by the extent of dendrimerization permitted during its synthesis. Thus, many variants of PAMAM(0), having variously, different numbers of substituting units, are suitable for use herein. In general, there is a range of sizes of dendrimer molecule (or PAMAM(0) derivative) that is suitable for polynucleotide capture: smaller sizes don't capture enough RNA or DNA, whereas larger sizes retain the RNA or DNA too strongly, and do not permit easy release. Additionally, different monomers from ethylene diamine may be used to make a variant of PAMAM suitable for use herein. Such monomers may include, without limitation, 1,2-propylene diamine, 1,3-propylene diamine, 1,2-butylene diamine, 1,3-butylene diamine, and 1,4-butylenediamine.


Molecules of PAMAM suitable for use herein may also be characterized by molecular weight. In particular, PAMAM(0) has a molecular weight of 516; other suitable PAMAM molecules have weights in the range 500-600 Da.


PAMAM(0) can itself function as an inhibitor of enzymatic processes such as DNA and RNA amplification, and therefore it is important that it be used in a manner in which it does not reside in solution together with the released RNA and/or DNA. Aspects of this are further described in the Examples, hereinbelow.


Support Materials


During use, PAMAM(0) is typically immobilized on, such as bound to the surface of, a solid support such as carboxylated beads, or magnetic or non-magnetic beads. In many embodiments, such a solid support comprises microparticles, such as beads, and microspheres. These terms, microparticles, beads, and microspheres may be used interchangeably herein. The particles are typically formed of a material to which the PAMAM(0) can be easily associated. Exemplary materials from which such particles can be formed include polymeric materials that can be modified to attach a ligand. Typically, such a solid support itself may be derivatized to yield surface functional groups that react easily with PAMAM(0) molecules to create a chemical bond between the surface and the PAMAM(0). A frequently-employed—and desirable—surface functional group is the carboxylic acid (COOH) group. Exemplary polymeric materials that provide, or can be modified to provide, carboxylic groups and/or amino groups available to attach PAMAM(0) include, for example, polystyrene, latex polymers (e.g., polycarboxylate coated latex), polyacrylamide, polyethylene oxide, and derivatives thereof. Polymeric materials that can used to form suitable particles are described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,235,313 to Mathiowitz et al., which patent is incorporated herein by reference. Other materials include glass, silica, agarose, and amino-propyl-tri-ethoxy-silane (APES) modified materials.


During the process of reaction of a PAMAM(0) molecule with a carboxylated particle, such as a magnetic particle, one of the amine groups out of the total possible amine groups on a PAMAM(0) molecule, such as 6 possible groups in the aforementioned product from Sigma Aldrich, is consumed to react with the COOH group of the surface of the particle to form a carbodiimide bond. (See, e.g., U.S. application Ser. No. 11/281,247, page 40). The remainder of the total number amine groups, such as 5 groups in the aforementioned product from Sigma Aldrich, are available for protonation.


In some embodiments, a synthetic protocol comprises: washing a quantity of microspheres with carbonate and MES buffer; preparing sulfo-NHS and EDAC; incubating the microspheres with sulfo-NHS and EDAC for 30 minutes; washing the microspheres with MES and borate buffer; contacting the microspheres with PAMAM(0) for 8-10 hours; and rinsing unbound PAMAM(0) from the microspheres. An example of synthetic protocols for making PAMAM(0)-bound microparticles, is given in the Examples, hereinbelow.


There are a variety of sources of bead or particle that can be used to bind PAMAM(0), and used in the processes described herein, for example: Seradyn Magnetic carboxyl modified magnetic beads (Part #3008050250, Seradyn), Polysciences BioMag carboxyl beads, Dynal polymer encapsulated magnetic beads with a carboxyl coating, and Polybead carboxylate modified microspheres available from Polyscience, catalog no. 09850.


The high density of the PAMAM(0) molecules on bead surfaces permits even a small quantity of beads (0.5 mg) to be used for clinical samples as large as a milliliter, and permits binding of even low levels of target RNA or DNA (<100 copies) in a background of billions of copies of other polynucleotides.


In some embodiments, at least some (e.g., all) of the particles are magnetic. In alternative embodiments, few (e.g., none) of the particles are magnetic. Magnetic particles are advantageous because centrifugation is generally not required to separate them from a solution in which they are suspended.


Particles typically have an average diameter of about 20 microns or less (e.g., about 15 microns or less, about 10 microns or less). In some embodiments, particles have an average diameter of at least about 4 microns (e.g., at least about 6 microns, at least about 8 microns). Magnetic particles, as used herein, typically have an average diameter of between about 0.5 microns and about 3 microns. Non-magnetic particles, as used herein, typically have an average diameter of between about 0.5 microns and about 10 microns.


The particle density is typically at least about 107 particles per milliliter (e.g., about 108 or about 109 particles per milliliter). For example, a processing region, such as present in a microfluidic device configured for used in sample preparation, with a total volume of about 1 microliter, may include about 103 beads.


In some embodiments, at least some (e.g., all) the particles are solid. In some embodiments, at least some (e.g., all) the particles are porous (e.g., the particles may have channels extending at least partially within them).


The microparticles described herein are not only suitable for use in process tubes that are handled by manual pipetting operations, but they can be used in a microfluidic devices, such as in sample concentrator, thereby enabling even sub-microliter elution volumes to be processed, as applicable.


The microparticles having PAMAM(0) bound thereto are particularly effective at capturing, and releasing RNA, and also DNA. In some embodiments, the ratio by weight of the RNA captured by the binding particles, to the binding particles prior to contact with the RNA, is 5-20%. In other embodiments, the ratio is 7-12%. In still other embodiments, the ratio is about 10%, corresponding to, e.g., 100 μg of RNA for each mg of particles.


The microparticles having PAMAM(0) bound thereto are particularly effective at capturing RNA, and/or DNA, consistently over a wide range of concentrations, thereby permitting quantitative analysis of the RNA and/or DNA to be carried out. In some embodiments, the binding particles capture 90% or more of the RNA or DNA liberated from cells into a solution in contact with the binding particles, over a range of 1 to 107 copies of target RNA or DNA/milliliter of sample.


In some embodiments, the binding particles release 90% or more of the DNA bound thereto when certain release conditions are deployed.


Sample Preparation Kits


Microparticles, coated with PAMAM(0), can be provided to a user in solid form, such as in lyophilized form, or in solution. It is desirable that the reagent, however provided, can be used immediately by a user for whatever intended purpose, without any preparatory steps. Microparticles prepared by the methods described herein can be lyophilized by methods known in the art, and applicable to microparticles of the sizes and characteristics described herein.


In each of the kits described herein, neutralization reagents are not required in the event that the kits are only to be used for determining RNA compounds. Thus neutralization reagents may be provided but are optional. Neutralization reagents are typically deployed in instances when the kits are used for DNA determination or for determining both RNA and DNA.


Such microparticles can also be provided in kit form, in conjunction with other reagents that are used, for example, in sample preparation. One embodiment of a kit comprises a number of, such as 24, sealed tubes, each containing lysis buffer; a tube containing lyophilized microparticles having PAMAM(0) bound thereto; a tube containing liquid wash reagents, sufficient to analyze the number of samples; a tube containing liquid neutralization reagents, sufficient to analyze the number of samples; and a tube containing liquid release reagents, sufficient to analyze the number of samples, wherein each component of the kit is stored in an air-tight container. Other numbers of tubes available in kit form include 12, 25, 30, 36, 48, 50, 60, and 100. Still other numbers are also permissible and consistent with the description herein.


Furthermore, in other embodiments of such a kit, the tube containing lyophilized microparticles can additionally contain particles of reagents selected from the group consisting of: proteinase-k; proteinase-k and mutanolysin; and proteinase-k, mutanolysin, and an internal control DNA. The additional enzymes are often used in cell-specific lysis applications.


In other embodiments, a kit comprises: a first air-tight pouch enclosing a number of—such as 24—tubes, each tube containing lyophilized microparticles having PAMAM(0) bound thereto; a second air-tight pouch enclosing a number of reagent holders, each holder comprising: a tube containing liquid lysis reagents; a tube containing liquid wash reagents; a tube containing liquid neutralization reagents; and a tube containing liquid release reagents. Other numbers of tubes available in kit form include 12, 25, 30, 36, 48, 50, 60, and 100. Still other numbers are also permissible and consistent with the description herein.


Furthermore, in other embodiments of such a kit, the tube containing lyophilized microparticles can additionally contain particles of reagents selected from the group consisting of: proteinase-k; proteinase-k and mutanolysin; and proteinase-k, mutanolysin, and an internal control DNA. The additional enzymes are often used in cell-specific lysis applications.


Conditions of DNA Binding and Elution


One factor to consider when assessing the efficacy of a DNA-capture material is the material's pKa. The pKa of an acid, HA, is an equilibrium constant for the equilibrium

HA←→H++A,

given by pKa=−log10 Ka, where Ka=[H+] [A]/[HA]. It can be shown that, when the pH (=−log10 [H+]) of the solution is numerically equal to the pKa of the acid, the acid is 50% dissociated at equilibrium. Therefore, knowing the pKa of a material gives an indication of the pH, below which it is largely dissociated (in anion form), and above which it is largely unionized.


The pKa for an amino group is defined for its conjugate base, as follows: a protonated amine, R—NH3+ is in dissociative equilibrium:

R—NH3+←→H++R—NH2

and its pKa is given by −log10 Ka, where Ka=[H+] [R—NH2]/[R—NH3+].


Because a nitrogen atom is trivalent, and due to the conditions of dendrimerization, each molecule of PAMAM(0) has a mixture of primary, tertiary amine groups. Therefore, PAMAM(0) molecules exhibit multiple pK's over a range of values roughly consonant with the range of pKa's spanned by primary, and tertiary aliphatic amines, whose pKa's typically lie in the range 10-11, as evidenced by, for example, Table 12.2 of Organic Chemistry, 2nd Ed., Allinger, et al., Eds., Worth Publishers, Inc. (1976). However, according to information provided by the manufacturer of PAMAM(0), Dendritech of Midland, Mich., PAMAM is in fact likely to have pKa's in the range of 5.5 (for the tertiary amines in the interior of the molecule)-9.5 (for the primary amines on the surface of the PAMAM molecules). A journal article that references this data is Tomalia, et al., Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. Engl., 29, 138-175 (1990), at page 163, right-hand column.


PAMAM(0) is effective as a binder for DNA in the processes described herein at least in part because the amine groups of the PAMAM(0) have a pKa of between 5-9. Thus, at low pH it is typically positively charged—and may even carry multiple positive charges per molecule arising from protonations of the amine groups at pH's lower than its pKa—and is therefore able to bind strongly to polynucleotides such as DNA and RNA, which typically comprise polyanions (are predominantly negatively charged) in solution.


During the use of the PAMAM(0) molecule in the processes described herein, the pH of the binding buffer (typically TRIS) used to lyse cells at the same time as binding liberated DNA to the particles, is approximately 7-8. At this pH, all the amines (6 possible groups per PEI molecule, as available from Sigma) remain protonated (positively charged) and hence strongly attract negative charged DNA molecules to bind towards the beads.


PAMAM(0) molecules are also advantageous because they are resistant to, e.g., are immune to, degradation by lytic enzymes, protease enzymes (e.g., mixtures of endo- and exo-proteases such as pronase that cleave peptide bonds), harsh chemicals such as detergents, and heat up to 95° C., and as such are able to bind RNA and DNA during the lysis process as well. Thus, cell lysis and RNA and/or DNA binding can be combined into a single (synchronous) step, thereby both saving time and at least one processing step. The strong binding of RNA and/or DNA molecules to PAMAM(0) enables rapid washing of affinity beads coated in PAMAM(0) to remove PCR inhibitors using a wash solution. The release of RNA and/or DNA from the affinity beads is effected by an elevation of temperature in the presence of a proprietary release reagent. As the quantity of beads used is very small (<1 μl), the RNA and/or DNA can be released in a final volume as low as 3 microliters. The released RNA and/or DNA is neutralized to a final volume of 5-50 microliters using a neutralization reagent and is now ready for downstream PCR.


Typically, the amount of sample introduced is about 500 microliters or less (e.g., about 250 microliters or less, about 100 microliters or less, about 50 microliters or less, about 25 microliters or less, about 10 microliters or less). In some embodiments, the amount of sample is about 2 microliters or less (e.g., about 0.5 microliters or less).


PAMAM(0) gives excellent RNA and DNA recovery, based in part on its high binding capacity, and its high release efficiency. In general, the ratio of mass of particles to the mass of RNA or DNA retained by the particles is no more than about 25 or more (e.g., no more than about 20, no more than about 10). For example, in some embodiments, about 1 gram of particles retains about 100 milligrams of RNA or DNA; when used in smaller quantities, similar ratios can be obtained (e.g., a binding capacity of 100 μg of RNA or DNA/mg beads).


Other Apparatus for DNA Capture


In other embodiments, the solid support can be configured as a retention member (e.g., porous member such as a column, filter, a porous membrane, a microporous filter, or a gel matrix, having multiple openings such as pores and/or channels, through which RNA and/or DNA passes) through which sample material (containing the RNA and/or DNA) must pass. Such a retention member may be formed of multiple surface-modified particles constrained into a suitable geometry. In some embodiments, the retention member comprises one or more filter membranes available from, for example, Osmonics, which are formed of polymers that may also be surface-modified and used to retain RNA and/or DNA. In some embodiments, a retention member is configured as a plurality of surfaces (e.g., walls or baffles) across which a sample passes. The walls or baffles are modified to retain RNA and/or DNA in preference to, e.g., PCR inhibitors. Such a retention member is typically used when the microparticles are non-magnetic.


As a sample solution moves through a processing region containing such a retention member (suitably modified to preferentially retain RNA and/or DNA), RNA and/or DNA is retained while the liquid and other solution components (e.g., inhibitors) are less retained (e.g., not retained) and exit the processing region. Typically, such a retention member retains at least about 50% of RNA and/or DNA molecules (at least about 75%, at least about 85%, at least about 90%) of the RNA and/or DNA molecules present in the sample that entered the processing region. The processing region is typically at a temperature of about 50° C. or less (e.g., 30° C. or less) during introduction of the sample. Processing can continue by washing the retention member with a wash solution to separate remaining inhibitors from RNA and/or DNA retained by the retention member.


In some embodiments, the sample preparation processes described herein are performed within a microfluidic device, such as a microfluidic cartridge configured to receive a sample, and to capture RNA and/or DNA molecules from the sample on a solid support contained within it. Exemplary microfluidic cartridges are described in U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2006/0166233, and WO2008/061165, both of which are incorporated herein by reference. Such cartridges may include one or more actuators configured to move microdroplets of various liquid solutions within the cartridge, a chamber configured to lyse cells in the sample, and one or more channels and associated valves configured to direct, disrupt, and divert liquid flow within the cartridge.


While sample preparation has been described as being a sequence of operations carried out in a single location, such as in a process tube or a microfluidic cartridge, other configurations can be used. For example, in some embodiments, the retention member carrying a polynucleotide-affinity material can be removed from a region where DNA and/or RNA capture occurs, for subsequent processing elsewhere. For example, the retention member may be contacted with a mixture comprising DNA and/or RNA and inhibitors in one location, and then moved to another location at which the RNA and/or DNA are removed from the retention member.


Other Advantages of the DNA Capture Material Described Herein


The extraction reagents and sample preparation processes described herein offer superior performances compared to currently available off-the-shelf kits for sample preparation. Advantages of the materials and methods herein include the following.


A streamlined sample preparation procedure having fewer steps (as few as six from raw sample to purified RNA and/or DNA) and utilizing fewer containers than other procedures.


Extraction control (cellular, plasmid, or naked) DNA can also be included along with the affinity beads. An internal control DNA can be included with the lysis reagents so that the internal control DNA gets co-purified with the other DNA (such as the target DNA) present in the clinical sample, and gets eluted amongst the final released DNA. During amplification of the eluted DNA, the internal control DNA is also amplified, and can subsequently be detected using a separate fluorophore from the target DNA. This gives an extra confirmation that the sample prep process worked as required.


The description herein has included a characterization of properties and use of microparticles coated in PAMAM(Generation 0). It would be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art that other affinity molecules may suitably be used in the processes described herein, as described elsewhere (e.g., U.S. patent application publication 2006-0166233, incorporated herein by reference).


EXAMPLES
Example 1
Sample Preparation Process

The following six steps can be accomplished in as little as 20 minutes for a single sample, to 30 minutes for a batch of 12 samples, using a reagent kit as further described herein. The steps are also easily automated as in a system described in U.S. provisional patent application Ser. No. 60/959,437, filed Jul. 13, 2007, incorporated herein by reference. The steps are also shown, schematically, in FIG. 1, and described elsewhere herein.


One exemplary process is as follows.


1. Mix ˜500 μl of the clinical sample with 500 μl of lysis buffer and magnetic affinity beads, surface-bound with PAMAM(0). Kits for detecting viruses such as EV13 include some lytic enzymes as well dissolved in the lysis buffer.


2. Incubate the mixture of sample, lysis buffer, and beads at a temperature between room temperature and 60° C. for 5-10 minutes, to lys the cells and bind the RNA and/or DNA to the affinity beads.


3. Separate the magnetic beads and remove as much of the supernatant solution as possible.


4. Wash the beads with a wash reagent.


5. Release the RNA and/or DNA from the beads by heating the beads for 3 minutes at 85° C. in the presence of as little as 3 microliters of release solution.


6. Remove the released RNA and/or DNA and neutralize the solution with a neutralization reagent, such as a Tris buffer, to create PCR-ready RNA and/or DNA.


Another exemplary process is as follows.

    • Sample: Mix 500 μl Plasma w 500 μl Prep Buffer, or Dip Swab in 1 mL RNA Prep Buffer.
    • The mixture may optionally be pre-filtered.
    • Incubate @ 60° C. for 10 min.; clean up with proteolytic enzymes if necessary (swab only) and effect RNA and/or DNA capture by PAMAM(G0) coated affinity beads (magnetic) as further described herein.
    • Optionally, in a case where RNA is desired to be determined, apply DNAse treatment (such as with 7U DNase @ 37 deg C. for 10 min.) to the mixture.
    • Wash RNA bound beads with 100 μl Wash Reagent (2×) as further described herein.
    • Release RNA from beads with heat (85° C.; 3 min.) in the presence of Release Reagent, as further described herein, thereby liberating RT-PCR ready RNA.


Example 2
Application to a Wide Variety of Matrices

The procedures described herein work for a variety of sample matrices, including both clinical and non-clinical samples, as shown by the following non-exhaustive list:

    • Nasal swab
    • CSF
    • Nasal swab in M4
    • Nasal swab in UTM
    • Plasma


Example 3
Representative Results


FIG. 3 shows the use of RNA extraction reagent, PAMAM(0), and a process as further described herein, to isolate and purify Enterovirus 13 (EV13) RNA from Nasal Swabs, using a lysis buffer as described elsewhere herein. The graph shows PCR curves for various samples spiked with each of 2×104, 2000, 200, 50, and 20 copies/1 mL of RNA Prep buffer. The RNA was released into 10 μl, but only 2 μl of released RNA was used for RT-PCR, which was performed using a Qiagen RT-PCR kit. PCR curves rise from the axis in order of decreasing concentration, from left to right.



FIG. 4 shows the use of RNA extraction reagent, PAMAM(0), and a process as further described herein, to isolate and purify Enterovirus 13 (EV13) RNA from Nasal Swabs collected in M4 media. The graph shows PCR curves for various samples spiked with each of 1000, 100, and 50, copies/1 mL of sample. PCR curves rise from the axis in order of decreasing concentration, from left to right.



FIG. 5 shows a comparison of RNA extraction using PAMAM(0) beads between buffer samples and plasma. 500 copies of EV13 RNA per 1 mL were used in both buffer and plasma samples, according to a process as further described herein.



FIG. 6 shows extraction of DNA, using PAMAM(0) beads. 2.5 pg DNA spiked into an M4 buffer, or a lysis buffer as described herein, were extracted using a process for extracting RNA from an M4 collection buffer as further described herein.



FIG. 7 shows PCR curves for RNA extraction from a 500 μl plasma sample containing 200 copies EV13 RNA, using 7U DNAse treatment.



FIG. 8 shows illustrates the sensitivity of the process. Process analysis reveals an LoD of 50 copies/200 μl CSF.


Example 4
Exemplary Protocol for the Extraction of RNA from M4, Dry Swab in 1× TCEP Buffer, THB Samples

Sample Preparation Pre-Processing (Only Swab Samples Require Filtration)













Step
Action







1
Pipette 500 μL of specimen into a tube (1.7 ml DOT snap cap tube)



containing 500 μL of TCEP buffer


2
Pipette up and down 2x, and then pipette entire amount into 3 ml



syringe


3
Insert plunger into syringe, and filter contents into a clean tube



(1.7 ml DOT snap cap tube), applying pressure until all liquid is



expelled, and foam starts to come out of filter (avoid getting



foam into sample).









RNA Extraction and PCR Prep













Step
Action
















1
Pipette sample (500 μL of specimen, plus 500 μL TCEP buffer) into a 1.7 ml DOT



snap cap tube containing 30 μL of RNA magnetic beads. Cap and invert Reaction



Tube 5 times, or until beads are dispersed (or dissolved, in the case of lyophilized



beads).


2
Immediately place samples in a 60° C. water bath, and incubate for 10 min (10.5 min



maximum).


3
Remove samples from water bath, and dry outsides of tubes with a Absorbent wipe.


4
Place tubes on magnetic rack, and allow separation to proceed for 1 minute (1.5 min



max).


5
Using a fresh pipette for each sample, carefully aspirate 1 ml of supernatant from



each sample (without disturbing beads), using a 1 ml pipettor. Discard supernatant.



Be sure to remove any liquid that remains in the tube cap.


6
After initial removal of supernatants from all samples, remove any remaining liquid



using a fresh 1 ml pipette tip for each sample.


7
Place tubes in a non-magnetic tube rack, and add 100 μL of Wash Buffer (0.1 mM



Tris, pH 7.5) to each tube using a 200 ul pipette tip. Pipette up and down 10 times, or



until all magnetic beads are resuspended, and no beads remain stuck to pipette tip.


8
Place tubes on magnetic rack for 30 seconds, allowing beads to separate.


9
Carefully aspirate supernatant from all samples using a 200 ul pipette tip. Discard



Supernatant. Using a fresh 20 μl tip for each sample, aspirate any remaining liquid



left in the sample (ie-liquid that has “settled” following the first aspiration step), and



discard the liquid.


10
Place tubes in a non-magnetic tube rack, and add 10 μL of Release Buffer (20 mM



Bis- Tris Propane or 20 mM Tris pH 9). Vortex for 10 seconds, or until beads are



resuspended.


11
Place samples in a heat block at 85° C. for 3 minutes (3.5 min max). Remove samples



from heat block, and place on magnetic rack for 30 seconds (1 min max).


12
Remove samples from heat block, and place on magnetic rack for 30 seconds (1 min



max).


13
Keeping tubes on the magnetic rack, remove all liquid, carefully avoiding magnetic



beads on side of tube, and place in 0.65 ml DOT tube.


14
Mix sample by pipetting up and down once. Sample is now ready for PCR.


15
Make PCR mix using Quantitect kit spiked with 0.6 uM primers and extra platinum



taq.


16
Add 8 uL of mix into Rotorgene or LC capillaries, add 2 μL of RNA.


17
Run RT PCR program as follows: 50 degrees for 20 min (RT step), 95 degrees for 5



min (denaturation), cycling at 95-2 sec, 58-50 sec (50 cycles).









Example 5
Exemplary Protocol for the Extraction of RNA from Plasma Samples RNA Extraction and PCR Prep












Step
Action
















1
Pipette sample (500 ul of specimen, plus 500 ul TCEP buffer + 70 uL 10% SDS) into



a 1.7 ml DOT snap cap tube containing 30 ul of RNA magnetic beads. Cap and invert



Reaction Tube 5 times, or until beads are dispersed (or dissolved, in the case of



lyophilized beads).


2
Immediately place samples in a 60° C. water bath, and incubate for 10 min (10.5 min



maximum).


3
Remove samples from water bath, and dry outsides of tubes with a Absorbent wipe.


4
Place tubes on magnetic rack, and allow separation to proceed for 1 minute (1.5 min



max).


5
Using a fresh pipette for each sample, carefully aspirate 1 ml of supernatant from



each sample (without disturbing beads), using a 1 ml pipettor. Discard supernatant.



Be sure to remove any liquid that remains in the tube cap.


6
After initial removal of supernatants from all samples, remove any remaining liquid



using a fresh 1 ml pipette tip for each sample.


7
Add 250 uL DNAse buffer with 1 Dnase pellet or 5 units of liquid DNAse.



Resuspend beads by vortexing or pipetting.


8
Incubate at 37 for 10 min.


9
Place tubes on magnetic rack, and allow separation to proceed for 1 minute (1.5 min



max).


10
Using a fresh pipette for each sample, carefully aspirate 1 ml of supernatant from



each sample (without disturbing beads), using a 1 ml pipettor. Discard supernatant.



Be sure to remove any liquid that remains in the tube cap.


11
Place tubes in a non-magnetic tube rack, and add 100 μl of Wash Buffer (0.1 mM



Tris, pH 7.5) to each tube using a 200 ul pipette tip. Pipette up and down 10 times, or



until all magnetic beads are resuspended, and no beads remain stuck to pipette tip.


12
Place tubes on magnetic rack for 30 seconds, allowing beads to separate.


13
Carefully aspirate supernatant from all samples using a 200 ul pipette tip. Discard



Supernatant. Using a fresh 20 ul tip for each sample, aspirate any remaining liquid



left in the sample (ie-liquid that has “settled” following the first aspiration step), and



discard the liquid.


14
Place tubes in a non-magnetic tube rack, and add 10 μL of Release Buffer (20 mM



Bis- Tris Propane or 20 mM Tris pH 9). Vortex for 10 seconds, or until beads are



resuspended.


15
Place samples in a heat block at 85° C. for 3 minutes (3.5 min max).


16
Remove samples from heat block, and place on magnetic rack for 30 seconds (1 min



max).


17
Keeping tubes on the magnetic rack, remove all liquid, carefully avoiding magnetic



beads on side of tube, and place in 0.65 ml DOT tube.


18
Mix sample by pipetting up and down once. Sample is now ready for PCR.


19
Make PCR mix using Quantitect kit spiked with 0.6 uM primers and extra platinum



taq.


20
Add 8 uL of mix into Rotorgene or LC capillaries, add 2 uL of RNA.


21
Run RT PCR program as follows: 50 degrees for 20 min (RT step), 95 degrees for 5



min (denaturation), cycling at 95-2 sec, 58-50 sec (50 cycles).









Example 6
Assembly Process for 2×TCEP Buffer for RNA Extractions

The procedure in this example provides a method appropriate for preparing up to 50 mL of a 2×TCEP Buffer (20 mM Tris HCl pH 7.0, 2% Tx-100, 10 mM TCEP) used in RNA extractions, as further described herein. The following is a list of reagents utilized in the process.

    • 1 M Tris-HCl pH 7.0
    • 100% Triton X-100 (Tx-100′)
    • TCEP (Tris(2-carboxyethyl)phosphine hydrochloride)
    • Ultrapure Water


The following is a list of equipment utilized in the process.

    • Laminar flow hood
    • Serological pipette filler
    • Serological pipette
    • Vortexer
    • Appropriate size container
    • New, sterile graduated cylinder
    • Appropriate Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)
    • Product Label


An operator performing this procedure must know how to prepare buffers, and possess an excellent pipetting technique, and should exercise general lab sterile techniques, prepare the solution in a laminar flow hood for sterility, and be cautious to not contaminate stock reagents. Gloves and lab coat should be worn by operator at all times.


Preparation of 50 mL of the 2× TCEP Buffer (20 mM Tris HCl pH 7.0, 2% Tx-100, 10 mM TCEP)













Step
Action
For 50 mls
















1
Verify reagent availability and expiration. Also perform a visual inspection of stock



reagents.


2
Affix the product label to the appropriate container.









3
Using a serological pipette or a new graduated cylinder dispense
45 mL H20



ultrapure water into the container.


4
Using a serological pipette or a new graduated cylinder, 1 mL Tris-HCl
1M Tris-HCl



dispense 1M Tris-HCl pH 7.0 into container.










5
Weigh out appropriate amount of TCEP and add to container.
143
mg








6
Vortex/shake well to mix. Do not add Triton until the TCEP has completely



dissolved.










7
Using a serological pipette, add Triton X-100 to container being careful
4
mL



to get all of solution out of pipette.








8
Vortex/shake well to mix.


9
Store at room temperature.









Example 7
Exemplary Process for the Preparation of Magnetic RNA Affinity Microspheres

This procedure provides an appropriate method for one batch of PAMAM(G0) coated magnetic microspheres, commonly referred to as Magnetic RNA-Affinity Microspheres. One batch consists of 1-10 ml synthesis resulting in 6 mL of magnetic RNA affinity microspheres. A flow-chart of the process is shown in FIG. 9. The following is a list of equipment utilized in the process.

    • Vortexer
    • Microcentrifuge
    • Magnetic Rack
    • 1.7 mL microcentrifuge tubes
    • 4-oz specimen containers
    • 50 mL conical tubes
    • 15 mL conical tubes
    • Centrifuge
    • pH meter
    • Pipettors
    • Pipettor tips
    • Ultrasonic dismembrator
    • dH20 wash bottle
    • Task Wipers
    • Balance
    • Laboratory marker
    • Gloves and Labcoat
    • Orbital shaker
    • Labeling tape
    • Pipette filler
    • Serological pipettes


An operator performing this procedure must be competent with a microbalance, pipettors, pH meter, ultrasonic dimembrator and a microcentrifuge, and must know how to prepare buffers and possess an excellent pipetting technique. Gloves, labcoat, and eye protection should be worn by the operator at all times. Ear protection must be worn during sonication steps. All solutions are prepared in a laminar flow hood.


Procedure—Preparation of Buffers












Step
Action







1
Verify availability and check expiration dates of all solutions



and reagents.


2
Visually inspect all stock solutions and reagents for



precipitation or color change. Do not use if precipitation occurs



or color changes.


3
Equilibrate all aliquoted stock solutions and reagents to RT.



Take out EDAC and NHS from −20° C. and equilibrate to RT



before use, this should take approximately one hour.









Preparation of 70 mL Buffer SN—B (50 mM MES Buffer pH 6.1, 0.15% Triton X-100)













Step
Action
For 70 mls
















1
Label a 4-oz or 500 ml container with “Buffer SN-B”,



date, and initials.










2
Using a serological pipette Buffer SN-C to bottle.
7
mL


3
With a P5000, 10% Triton X-100 to bottle.
420
uL


4
Using a graduated cylinder, add ultrapure water to
62.5
mL



bottle.








5
Mix well by inversion.


6
Check pH of solution, which should be between 5.8-6.5.


7
Store at 4° C. during overnight incubation but discard



after lot manufacture is complete.









Preparation of 50 mL Buffer SN—G (50 mM Tris pH 7.5, 0.1% Triton X-100)













Step
Action
For 50 mls
















1
Labe a 50 mL conical tube with “Buffer SN-G”, date,



and initials










2
Using a serological pipette add 1M Tris pH 7.5 to
2.5
mL



bottle


3
With a P5000, 10% Triton X-100 to bottle.
200
uL


4
Using a graduated cylinder, add ultrapure water to
47.3
mL



bottle.








5
Mix well by inversion.


6
Chek pH of solution, which should be between 7.2-7.7


7
Store at RT for the duration of lot manufacture but



discard after lot manufacture is complete.









Preparation of 10 mL Buffer SN—H (50 mM MES pH 6.1, no Tx)













Step
Action
For 10 mls
















1
Label a 15 mL conical tube with “Buffer SN-H”, date,



and initials.









2
Using a serological pipette add Buffer C to bottle
1 mL


3
Using a graduated cylinder, add ultrapure water to
9 mL



bottle.








4
Mix well by inversion.


5
Check pH of solution, which should be between 5.8-6.5


6
Store at RT for the duration of lot manufacture but



discard after lot manufacture is complete.









Steps to be performed on Day 1, include the following.













Step
Action







1
Calculate required amount of carboxylated microspheres. Divide



10 mL by % solids to calculate amount of microspheres needed



per reaction. 5 reactions per set. Multiply this number by 5 to get



the total amount of microspheres for the full set.


2
Vortex the vial containing the microspheres very well (for approx



1 minute).


3
Label 1-50 mL conical tubes with Lot number, date, and initials.


4
Pipette the appropriate amount of microspheres into 50 mL conical



tube.


5
Place conical tubes onto magnetic rack and let sit until beads are



fully captured by magnet. Remove supernatant carefully.






















MES buffer wash
For 30 mls










6
Add Buffer SN-B to each tube and vortex to mix
10
mls



Place conical tubes onto magnetic rack and let sit until beads are



fully captured by magnet.



Remove supernatant carefully. Repeat wash 2 more times.







Prepare sulfo-NHS








7
Weigh out small amount of sulfo-NHS on weigh paper and multiply weight (in



mg) by 20 to calculate μL of ultrapure water to add to make 50 mg/ml solution.



Need 1.5 mL for 1 reactions (75 mg).



Add to 1.7 mL tube and mix well.



Weight (mg) × 20 = μL ultrapure water needed.



Add ultrapure water and vortex well to resuspend.



NHS solution should be prepared right before use, discard after 15 min.







For 30 mls Activation (Prepare EDAC in hood)









8
Add reagents in the following order to each conical tube:
For 30 mls











(i) ddH2O
5000
μL



(ii) Buffer SN-C
1000
μL



(iii) 50 mg/mL sulfo-NHS
1500
μL



Sonicate using ultrasonic dismembrator at a power output of 12
10
seconds



for the appropriate time making sure that the probe is submerged



at all time. Clean probe with dH2O and wipe with absorbent



wipe before and after sonication.









9
Immediately prepare 5 mg/ml EDAC in hood. EDAC solution




should be prepared right before use, discard after 15 min. Weigh



out small amount of EDAC onto weigh paper and multiply



weight (in mg) by 200 to calculate μL of ultrapure water needed



to make 5 mg/ml solution.



Need 2480 μl total (12.4 mg).



Prepare in 50 mL conical tube.



Weight (mg) × 200 = (μL) ultrapure water to add.



Vortex well after addition of ultrapure H2O.


10
Add the following:











(i) 10% Triton X-100 10 μL
10
μL



(ii) 5 mg/mL EDAC (add EDAC solution carefully; drop by
2480
μL



drop 2480 μL while vortexing the solution at very



low speed)



(iii) 50 mg/mL sulfo-NHS
1500
μL







Mix well by vortexing.








11
Record number of times EDAC opened on bottle. Discard after 5 uses.










12
Secure tubes to orbital shaker with labeling tape and incubate at
30
mins.



room temperature at setting 6 (or at setting where microspheres are



mixing well).


13
After incubation, centrifuge for 5 min at maximum speed and then
5
mins.



place on magnet. Remove supernatant carefully but completely.








MES buffer wash
For 30 mls










14
Add Buffer SN-B to each tube and vortex to mix
10
mls










Place conical tubes onto magnetic rack and let sit until beads are




fully captured by magnet. Remove supernatant carefully.



Repeat wash 2 more times.


Coupling


15
Prepare coupling reaction:
For 10 mls











(i) Add Buffer H
6
mL



Sonicate using ultrasonic dismembrator at power output 9 for the
10
sec



appropriate time making sure that the probe is submerged. Clean



probe with dH2O and wipe with absorbent wipe before and after



sonication.



(ii) Add PAMAM(G0) (add solution carefully, drop by drop
250
μL



while vortexing the solution on low speed).










(iii) Mix by vortexing









16
Secure tube to orbital shaker with labeling tape. Incubate overnight at a



setting of 6 at room temperature (or at setting where microspheres are mixing



well).


17
Store buffers SN-B, H and G at 4° C. overnight.



Return NHS and EDAC stocks to −20° C. Return buffer SN-C to 4° C.









Steps to be performed on Day 2, include the following.













Step
Action
















18
After overnight incubation, remove buffers SN-B and G from 4° C. and



equilibrate to RT (approximately 1 hr).


19
Centrifuge tubes for 5 min at maximum speed and place on magnetic rack.



Remove supernatant carefully but completely.








Tri Washes
For 30 mls










20
Add Buffer SN G to each tube and vortex to mix. Clean probe
10
mL



with dH20 and wipe with absorbent wipe before and after



sonication.



Place conical tubes onto magnetic rack and let sit until beads are



fully captured by magnet. Remove supernatant carefully.



Repeat wash 2 more times.









Final Resuspension












21
Resuspend each reaction in Buffer SN-B by sonication using
6
mL



ultrasonic dismembrator at power output of 12 for 10 seconds



(ensure that probe is submerged). Clean probe with dH2O and



wipe with absorbent wipe before and after sonication.








22
Affix appropriate label to tube.


23
Discard all buffers. Store Buffer SN-C at 4° C.


25
Store at 4° C. Stable for 1 month if stored appropriately.









The foregoing description is intended to illustrate various aspects of the instant technology. It is not intended that the examples presented herein limit the scope of the appended claims. The invention now being fully described, it will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art that many changes and modifications can be made thereto without departing from the spirit or scope of the appended claims.

Claims
  • 1. A system comprising: a container comprising: a plurality of magnetic beads coated with polycationic polyamine dendrimers, the polycationic polyamine dendrimers being covalently bonded to carboxyl groups on the plurality of magnetic beads, anda lytic enzyme,wherein the container is configured to receive a biological sample containing polynucleotides and allow the biological sample to come in contact with the plurality of magnetic beads, andwherein the plurality of magnetic beads in the container are configured to reversibly bind polynucleotides of the biological sample, through ionic bonding with the polycationic polyamine dendrimers, thereby producing a set of polynucleotide-retained beads;a release solution, wherein the set of polynucleotide-retained beads are configured to release the polynucleotides when contacted with the release solution and heated;a multi-lane microfluidic cartridge comprising:a plurality of separate microfluidic networks, wherein at least two of the separate microfluidic networks comprise: an opening for receiving polynucleotides released from the set of polynucleotide-retained beads into the microfluidic network;an amplification reaction chamber; andone or more channels leading from the opening to the amplification reaction chamber; anda heater located external to the multi-lane microfluidic cartridge and configured to be in thermal communication with the amplification reaction chamber.
  • 2. The system of claim 1, wherein the polycationic polyamine dendrimers comprise six amine groups prior to covalently bonding to carboxyl groups on the magnetic beads.
  • 3. The system of claim 1, wherein the polycationic polyamine dendrimers comprise at least four dendrimer branches having primary amine terminals prior to covalently bonding to carboxyl groups on the magnetic beads.
  • 4. The system of claim 1, wherein the polycationic polyamine dendrimers comprise at least five amine groups when covalently bonded to carboxyl groups on the magnetic beads.
  • 5. The system of claim 1, wherein the polycationic polyamine dendrimers comprise at least three dendrimer branches having primary amine terminals when covalently bonded to carboxyl groups on the magnetic beads.
  • 6. The system of claim 1, wherein the polycationic polyamine dendrimers are amide-bonded to the magnetic beads.
  • 7. The system of claim 1, wherein the polycationic polyamine dendrimers comprise polyamide dendrimers.
  • 8. The system of claim 7, wherein the polyamide dendrimers comprise PAMAM dendrimers.
  • 9. The system of claim 1, wherein the plurality of magnetic beads and the lytic enzyme are in solid form in the container prior to receiving the biological sample in the container.
  • 10. The system of claim 1, wherein the plurality of magnetic beads and the lytic enzyme are in dry form in the container prior to receiving the biological sample in the container.
  • 11. The system of claim 1, wherein the container further comprises sample process control polynucleotides prior to receiving the biological sample in the container.
  • 12. The system of claim 9, wherein the lytic enzyme comprises proteinase K.
  • 13. The system of claim 10, wherein the lytic enzyme comprises proteinase K.
  • 14. The system of claim 1, wherein the polycationic polyamine dendrimers comprise an initial monomer core of ethylene diamine.
  • 15. A kit comprising: a plurality of containers, at least one container comprising: a plurality of magnetic beads coated with polycationic polyamine dendrimers, the polycationic polyamine dendrimers being covalently bonded to the plurality of magnetic beads via amide bonds and comprising at least three dendrimer branches having primary amine terminals; anda lytic enzyme,wherein the at least one container is configured to receive a biological sample containing polynucleotides and to allow the biological sample to come in contact with the plurality of magnetic beads,wherein the plurality of magnetic beads and the lytic enzyme are in dry form in the at least one container prior to receiving the biological sample in the at least one container,wherein the plurality of magnetic beads in the at least one container are configured to reversibly bind polynucleotides of the biological sample, thereby producing a set of polynucleotide-retained beads, andwherein the set of polynucleotide-retained beads are configured to release the polynucleotides when contacted with a release solution and heated.
  • 16. The kit of claim 15, wherein the polycationic polyamine dendrimers comprise six amine groups prior to covalently bonding to the plurality of magnetic beads.
  • 17. The kit of claim 15, wherein the polycationic polyamine dendrimers have a molecular weight of less than about 600 Da prior to covalently bonding to the plurality of magnetic beads.
  • 18. The kit of claim 15, wherein the polycationic polyamine dendrimers comprise at least four dendrimer branches having primary amine terminals prior to covalently bonding to the plurality of magnetic beads.
  • 19. The kit of claim 15, wherein the polycationic polyamine dendrimers comprise at least five amine groups when covalently bonded to the plurality of magnetic beads.
  • 20. The kit of claim 15, wherein the at least one container further comprises sample process control polynucleotides in dry form prior to receiving the biological sample in the at least one container.
  • 21. The kit of claim 15, wherein the lytic enzyme comprises proteinase K.
  • 22. The kit of claim 15, wherein the polycationic polyamine dendrimers comprise an initial monomer core of ethylene diamine.
  • 23. The kit of claim 15, wherein the plurality of magnetic beads are configured to release the polynucleotides at an extraction efficiency of at least 90%.
CLAIM OF PRIORITY

This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 16/818,458, filed on Mar. 13, 2020, which is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 16/158,752, filed on Oct. 12, 2018 (now U.S. Pat. No. 10,590,410), which is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 14/976,746, filed on Dec. 21, 2015 (now U.S. Pat. No. 10,100,302), which is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 14/262,525, filed on Apr. 25, 2014 (now U.S. Pat. No. 9,217,143), which is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 13/692,980, filed on Dec. 3, 2012 (now U.S. Pat. No. 8,710,211), which is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 12/172,214, filed on Jul. 11, 2008 (now U.S. Pat. No. 8,324,372), which claims the benefit of priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119(e) to U.S. Provisional Application Ser No. 60/959,437, filed Jul. 13, 2007, all of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.

US Referenced Citations (1083)
Number Name Date Kind
D189404 Nicolle Dec 1960 S
3050239 Williams Aug 1962 A
3905772 Hartnett et al. Sep 1975 A
3985649 Eddelman Oct 1976 A
4018089 Dzula et al. Apr 1977 A
4018652 Lanham et al. Apr 1977 A
4038192 Serur Jul 1977 A
4055395 Honkawa et al. Oct 1977 A
D249706 Adamski Sep 1978 S
4139005 Dickey Feb 1979 A
D252157 Kronish et al. Jun 1979 S
D252341 Thomas Jul 1979 S
D254687 Fadler et al. Apr 1980 S
4212744 Oota Jul 1980 A
D261033 Armbruster Sep 1981 S
D261173 Armbruster Oct 1981 S
4301412 Hill et al. Nov 1981 A
4439526 Columbus Mar 1984 A
4457329 Werley et al. Jul 1984 A
4466740 Kano et al. Aug 1984 A
4472357 Levy et al. Sep 1984 A
4504582 Swann Mar 1985 A
4522786 Ebersole Jun 1985 A
D279817 Chen et al. Jul 1985 S
D282208 Lowry Jan 1986 S
4599315 Terasaki et al. Jul 1986 A
4612873 Eberle Sep 1986 A
4612959 Costello Sep 1986 A
D288478 Carlson et al. Feb 1987 S
4647432 Wakatake Mar 1987 A
4654127 Baker et al. Mar 1987 A
4673657 Christian Jun 1987 A
4678752 Thorne et al. Jul 1987 A
4683195 Mullis et al. Jul 1987 A
4683202 Mullis Jul 1987 A
4698302 Whitehead et al. Oct 1987 A
D292735 Lovborg Nov 1987 S
4720374 Ramachandran Jan 1988 A
4724207 Hou et al. Feb 1988 A
4795698 Owen et al. Jan 1989 A
4798693 Mase et al. Jan 1989 A
4800022 Leonard Jan 1989 A
4827944 Nugent May 1989 A
4841786 Schulz Jun 1989 A
D302294 Hillman Jul 1989 S
4855110 Marker et al. Aug 1989 A
4871779 Killat et al. Oct 1989 A
4889818 Gelfand et al. Dec 1989 A
4895650 Wang Jan 1990 A
4902624 Columbus et al. Feb 1990 A
4914710 Ward et al. Apr 1990 A
4919829 Gates et al. Apr 1990 A
4921809 Schiff et al. May 1990 A
4935342 Seligson et al. Jun 1990 A
4946562 Guruswamy Aug 1990 A
4948561 Hinckley et al. Aug 1990 A
4949742 Rando et al. Aug 1990 A
D310413 Bigler et al. Sep 1990 S
4963498 Hillman Oct 1990 A
4965188 Mullis et al. Oct 1990 A
4967950 Legg et al. Nov 1990 A
D312692 Bradley Dec 1990 S
4978502 Dole et al. Dec 1990 A
4978622 Mishell et al. Dec 1990 A
4989626 Takagi et al. Feb 1991 A
4994373 Stavrianopoulos et al. Feb 1991 A
4997772 Sutton et al. Mar 1991 A
5001417 Pumphrey et al. Mar 1991 A
5004583 Guruswamy et al. Apr 1991 A
5048554 Kremer Sep 1991 A
5053199 Keiser et al. Oct 1991 A
5060823 Perlman Oct 1991 A
5061336 Soane Oct 1991 A
5064618 Baker et al. Nov 1991 A
5071531 Soane Dec 1991 A
5089233 DeVaney, Jr. et al. Feb 1992 A
5091328 Miller Feb 1992 A
D324426 Fan et al. Mar 1992 S
5096669 Lauks et al. Mar 1992 A
D325638 Sloat et al. Apr 1992 S
5126002 Iwata et al. Jun 1992 A
5126022 Soane et al. Jun 1992 A
D328135 Fan et al. Jul 1992 S
D328794 Frenkel et al. Aug 1992 S
5135627 Soane Aug 1992 A
5135872 Pouletty et al. Aug 1992 A
5147606 Charlton et al. Sep 1992 A
5147777 Sutton et al. Sep 1992 A
5155166 Danielson et al. Oct 1992 A
5169512 Wiedenmann et al. Dec 1992 A
5173269 Mon et al. Dec 1992 A
D333522 Gianino Feb 1993 S
5186339 Heissler Feb 1993 A
5192507 Taylor et al. Mar 1993 A
5208163 Charlton et al. May 1993 A
5217694 Gibler et al. Jun 1993 A
5223226 Wittmer et al. Jun 1993 A
5229297 Schnipelsky et al. Jul 1993 A
5231015 Cummins et al. Jul 1993 A
D338275 Fischer et al. Aug 1993 S
5234809 Boom et al. Aug 1993 A
5250263 Manz Oct 1993 A
5252743 Barrett et al. Oct 1993 A
5256376 Callan et al. Oct 1993 A
5273716 Northrup et al. Dec 1993 A
5275787 Yuguchi et al. Jan 1994 A
5282950 Dietze et al. Feb 1994 A
5296375 Kricka et al. Mar 1994 A
5304477 Nagoh et al. Apr 1994 A
5304487 Wilding et al. Apr 1994 A
D347478 Pinkney May 1994 S
5311896 Kaartinen et al. May 1994 A
5311996 Duffy et al. May 1994 A
5316727 Suzuki et al. May 1994 A
5327038 Culp Jul 1994 A
5334499 Burdick et al. Aug 1994 A
5338671 Scalice et al. Aug 1994 A
5339486 Persic, Jr. Aug 1994 A
D351475 Gerber Oct 1994 S
D351913 Hieb et al. Oct 1994 S
5364591 Green et al. Nov 1994 A
5372946 Cusak et al. Dec 1994 A
5374395 Robinson Dec 1994 A
5384499 Pedersen et al. Jan 1995 A
5389339 Petschek et al. Feb 1995 A
D356232 Armstrong et al. Mar 1995 S
5397709 Berndt Mar 1995 A
5401465 Smethers et al. Mar 1995 A
5411708 Moscetta et al. May 1995 A
5414245 Hackleman May 1995 A
5415839 Zaun et al. May 1995 A
5416000 Allen et al. May 1995 A
5422271 Chen et al. Jun 1995 A
5422284 Lau Jun 1995 A
5427946 Kricka et al. Jun 1995 A
5443791 Cathcart et al. Aug 1995 A
5466574 Liberti et al. Nov 1995 A
5474796 Brennan Dec 1995 A
5475487 Mariella, Jr. et al. Dec 1995 A
D366116 Biskupski Jan 1996 S
5486335 Wilding et al. Jan 1996 A
5494639 Grzegorzewski Feb 1996 A
5498392 Wilding et al. Mar 1996 A
5503803 Brown Apr 1996 A
5516410 Schneider et al. May 1996 A
5519635 Miyake et al. May 1996 A
5529677 Schneider et al. Jun 1996 A
5559432 Logue Sep 1996 A
5565171 Dovichi et al. Oct 1996 A
5569364 Hooper et al. Oct 1996 A
5578270 Reichler et al. Nov 1996 A
5578818 Kain et al. Nov 1996 A
5579928 Anukwuem Dec 1996 A
5580523 Bard Dec 1996 A
5582884 Ball et al. Dec 1996 A
5582988 Backus et al. Dec 1996 A
5585069 Zanucchi et al. Dec 1996 A
5585089 Queen et al. Dec 1996 A
5585242 Bouma et al. Dec 1996 A
5587128 Wilding et al. Dec 1996 A
5589136 Northrup et al. Dec 1996 A
5593838 Zanzucchi et al. Jan 1997 A
5595708 Berndt Jan 1997 A
5599432 Manz et al. Feb 1997 A
5599503 Manz et al. Feb 1997 A
5599667 Arnold, Jr. et al. Feb 1997 A
5601727 Bormann et al. Feb 1997 A
5603351 Cherukuri et al. Feb 1997 A
5605662 Heller et al. Feb 1997 A
5609910 Hackleman Mar 1997 A
D378782 LaBarbera et al. Apr 1997 S
5628890 Carter et al. May 1997 A
5630920 Friese et al. May 1997 A
5631337 Sassi et al. May 1997 A
5632876 Zanzucchi et al. May 1997 A
5632957 Heller et al. May 1997 A
5635358 Wilding et al. Jun 1997 A
5637469 Wilding et al. Jun 1997 A
5639423 Northrup et al. Jun 1997 A
5639428 Cottingham Jun 1997 A
5643738 Zanzucchi et al. Jul 1997 A
5645801 Bouma et al. Jul 1997 A
5646039 Northrup et al. Jul 1997 A
5646049 Tayi Jul 1997 A
5647994 Tuunanen et al. Jul 1997 A
5651839 Rauf Jul 1997 A
5652141 Henco et al. Jul 1997 A
5652149 Mileaf et al. Jul 1997 A
D382346 Buhler et al. Aug 1997 S
D382647 Staples et al. Aug 1997 S
5654141 Mariani et al. Aug 1997 A
5658515 Lee et al. Aug 1997 A
5667976 Van Ness et al. Sep 1997 A
5671303 Shieh et al. Sep 1997 A
5674394 Whitmore Oct 1997 A
5674742 Northrup et al. Oct 1997 A
5681484 Zanzucchi et al. Oct 1997 A
5681529 Taguchi et al. Oct 1997 A
5683657 Mian Nov 1997 A
5683659 Hovatter Nov 1997 A
5699157 Parce et al. Dec 1997 A
5700637 Southern Dec 1997 A
5705813 Apffel et al. Jan 1998 A
5721136 Finney et al. Feb 1998 A
5725831 Reichler et al. Mar 1998 A
5726026 Wilding et al. Mar 1998 A
5726404 Brody Mar 1998 A
5726944 Pelley et al. Mar 1998 A
5731212 Gavin et al. Mar 1998 A
5744366 Kricka et al. Apr 1998 A
5746978 Bienhaus et al. May 1998 A
5747666 Willis May 1998 A
5750015 Soane et al. May 1998 A
5755942 Zanzucchi et al. May 1998 A
5762874 Seaton et al. Jun 1998 A
5763262 Wong et al. Jun 1998 A
5770029 Nelson et al. Jun 1998 A
5770388 Vorpahl Jun 1998 A
5772966 Maracas et al. Jun 1998 A
5779868 Parce et al. Jul 1998 A
5783148 Cottingham et al. Jul 1998 A
5787032 Heller et al. Jul 1998 A
5788814 Sun et al. Aug 1998 A
5800600 Lima-Marques et al. Sep 1998 A
5800690 Chow et al. Sep 1998 A
5804436 Okun et al. Sep 1998 A
D399959 Prokop et al. Oct 1998 S
5819749 Lee et al. Oct 1998 A
5827481 Bente et al. Oct 1998 A
5842106 Thaler et al. Nov 1998 A
5842787 Kopf-Sill et al. Dec 1998 A
5846396 Zanzucchi et al. Dec 1998 A
5846493 Bankier et al. Dec 1998 A
5849208 Hayes et al. Dec 1998 A
5849486 Heller et al. Dec 1998 A
5849489 Heller Dec 1998 A
5849598 Wilson et al. Dec 1998 A
5852495 Parce Dec 1998 A
5856174 Lipshutz et al. Jan 1999 A
5858187 Ramsey et al. Jan 1999 A
5858188 Soane et al. Jan 1999 A
5863502 Southgate et al. Jan 1999 A
5863708 Zanzucchi et al. Jan 1999 A
5863801 Southgate et al. Jan 1999 A
5866345 Wilding et al. Feb 1999 A
5869004 Parce et al. Feb 1999 A
5869244 Martin et al. Feb 1999 A
5872010 Karger et al. Feb 1999 A
5872623 Stabile et al. Feb 1999 A
5874046 Megerle Feb 1999 A
5876675 Kennedy Mar 1999 A
5880071 Parce et al. Mar 1999 A
5882465 McReynolds Mar 1999 A
5883211 Sassi et al. Mar 1999 A
5885432 Hooper et al. Mar 1999 A
5885470 Parce et al. Mar 1999 A
5895762 Greenfield et al. Apr 1999 A
5900130 Benvegnu et al. May 1999 A
5911737 Lee et al. Jun 1999 A
5912124 Kumar Jun 1999 A
5912134 Shartle Jun 1999 A
5914229 Loewy Jun 1999 A
5916522 Boyd et al. Jun 1999 A
5916776 Kumar Jun 1999 A
5919646 Okun et al. Jul 1999 A
5919711 Boyd et al. Jul 1999 A
5922591 Anderson et al. Jul 1999 A
5927547 Papen et al. Jul 1999 A
5928161 Krulevitch et al. Jul 1999 A
5928880 Wilding et al. Jul 1999 A
5929208 Heller et al. Jul 1999 A
D413391 Lapeus et al. Aug 1999 S
5932799 Moles Aug 1999 A
5935401 Amigo Aug 1999 A
5939291 Loewy et al. Aug 1999 A
5939312 Baier et al. Aug 1999 A
5942443 Parce et al. Aug 1999 A
5944717 Lee et al. Aug 1999 A
D413677 Dumitrescu et al. Sep 1999 S
D414271 Mendoza Sep 1999 S
5948227 Dubrow Sep 1999 A
5948363 Gaillard Sep 1999 A
5948673 Cottingham Sep 1999 A
5955028 Chow Sep 1999 A
5955029 Wilding et al. Sep 1999 A
5957579 Kopf-Sill et al. Sep 1999 A
5958203 Parce et al. Sep 1999 A
5958349 Petersen et al. Sep 1999 A
5958694 Nikiforov Sep 1999 A
5959221 Boyd et al. Sep 1999 A
5959291 Jensen Sep 1999 A
5935522 Swerdlow et al. Oct 1999 A
5964995 Nikiforov et al. Oct 1999 A
5964997 McBride Oct 1999 A
5965001 Chow et al. Oct 1999 A
5965410 Chow et al. Oct 1999 A
5965886 Sauer et al. Oct 1999 A
5968745 Thorp et al. Oct 1999 A
5972187 Parce et al. Oct 1999 A
5973138 Collis Oct 1999 A
D417009 Boyd Nov 1999 S
5976336 Dubrow et al. Nov 1999 A
5980704 Cherukuri et al. Nov 1999 A
5980719 Cherukuri et al. Nov 1999 A
5981735 Thatcher et al. Nov 1999 A
5985651 Hunicke-Smith Nov 1999 A
5989402 Chow et al. Nov 1999 A
5992820 Fare et al. Nov 1999 A
5993611 Moroney, III et al. Nov 1999 A
5993750 Ghosh et al. Nov 1999 A
5997708 Craig Dec 1999 A
6001229 Ramsey Dec 1999 A
6001231 Kopf-Sill Dec 1999 A
6001307 Naka et al. Dec 1999 A
6004450 Northrup et al. Dec 1999 A
6004515 Parce et al. Dec 1999 A
6007690 Nelson et al. Dec 1999 A
6010607 Ramsey Jan 2000 A
6010608 Ramsey Jan 2000 A
6010627 Hood, III Jan 2000 A
6012902 Parce Jan 2000 A
D420747 Dumitrescu et al. Feb 2000 S
D421130 Cohen et al. Feb 2000 S
6024920 Cunanan Feb 2000 A
D421653 Purcell Mar 2000 S
6033546 Ramsey Mar 2000 A
6033880 Haff et al. Mar 2000 A
6043080 Lipshutz et al. Mar 2000 A
6043880 Andrews et al. Mar 2000 A
6046056 Parce et al. Apr 2000 A
6048734 Burns et al. Apr 2000 A
6054034 Soane et al. Apr 2000 A
6054277 Furcht et al. Apr 2000 A
6056860 Amigo et al. May 2000 A
6057149 Burns et al. May 2000 A
6062261 Jacobson et al. May 2000 A
6063341 Fassbind et al. May 2000 A
6063589 Kellogg et al. May 2000 A
6068751 Neukermans May 2000 A
6068752 Dubrow et al. May 2000 A
6071478 Chow Jun 2000 A
6074725 Kennedy Jun 2000 A
6074827 Nelson et al. Jun 2000 A
D428497 Lapeus et al. Jul 2000 S
6086740 Kennedy Jul 2000 A
6096509 Okun et al. Aug 2000 A
6100541 Nagle et al. Aug 2000 A
6102897 Lang Aug 2000 A
6103537 Ullman et al. Aug 2000 A
6106685 McBride et al. Aug 2000 A
6110343 Ramsey et al. Aug 2000 A
6117398 Bienhaus et al. Sep 2000 A
6123205 Dumitrescu et al. Sep 2000 A
6123798 Gandhi et al. Sep 2000 A
6130098 Handique et al. Oct 2000 A
6132580 Mathies et al. Oct 2000 A
6132684 Marino Oct 2000 A
6133436 Koster et al. Oct 2000 A
D433759 Mathis et al. Nov 2000 S
6143250 Tajima Nov 2000 A
6143547 Hsu Nov 2000 A
6149787 Chow et al. Nov 2000 A
6149872 Mack et al. Nov 2000 A
6156199 Zuk, Jr. Dec 2000 A
6158269 Dorenkott et al. Dec 2000 A
6167910 Chow Jan 2001 B1
6168948 Anderson et al. Jan 2001 B1
6171850 Nagle et al. Jan 2001 B1
6174675 Chow et al. Jan 2001 B1
6180950 Olsen Jan 2001 B1
D438311 Yamanishi et al. Feb 2001 S
6190619 Kilcoin et al. Feb 2001 B1
6194563 Cruickshank Feb 2001 B1
D438632 Miller Mar 2001 S
D438633 Miller Mar 2001 S
D439673 Brophy et al. Mar 2001 S
6197595 Anderson et al. Mar 2001 B1
6211989 Wulf et al. Apr 2001 B1
6213151 Jacobson et al. Apr 2001 B1
6221600 MacLeod et al. Apr 2001 B1
6228635 Armstrong et al. May 2001 B1
6232072 Fisher May 2001 B1
6235175 Dubrow et al. May 2001 B1
6235313 Mathiowitz et al. May 2001 B1
6235471 Knapp et al. May 2001 B1
6236456 Giebeler et al. May 2001 B1
6236581 Foss et al. May 2001 B1
6238626 Higuchi et al. May 2001 B1
6251343 Dubrow et al. Jun 2001 B1
6254826 Acosta et al. Jul 2001 B1
6259635 Khouri et al. Jul 2001 B1
6261431 Mathies et al. Jul 2001 B1
6267858 Parce et al. Jul 2001 B1
D446306 Ochi et al. Aug 2001 S
6271021 Burns et al. Aug 2001 B1
6274089 Chow et al. Aug 2001 B1
6280967 Ransom et al. Aug 2001 B1
6281008 Komai et al. Aug 2001 B1
6284113 Bjornson et al. Sep 2001 B1
6284470 Bitner et al. Sep 2001 B1
6287254 Dodds Sep 2001 B1
6287774 Nikiforov Sep 2001 B1
6291248 Haj-Ahmad Sep 2001 B1
6294063 Becker et al. Sep 2001 B1
6300124 Blumenfeld et al. Oct 2001 B1
6302134 Kellogg et al. Oct 2001 B1
6302304 Spencer Oct 2001 B1
6303343 Kopf-Sill Oct 2001 B1
6306273 Wainright et al. Oct 2001 B1
6306590 Mehta et al. Oct 2001 B1
6310199 Smith et al. Oct 2001 B1
6316774 Giebeler et al. Nov 2001 B1
6319469 Mian et al. Nov 2001 B1
6319474 Krulevitch et al. Nov 2001 B1
6322683 Wolk et al. Nov 2001 B1
6326083 Yang et al. Dec 2001 B1
6326147 Oldham et al. Dec 2001 B1
6326211 Anderson et al. Dec 2001 B1
6334980 Hayes et al. Jan 2002 B1
6337435 Chu et al. Jan 2002 B1
6353475 Jensen et al. Mar 2002 B1
6358387 Kopf-sill et al. Mar 2002 B1
6366924 Parce Apr 2002 B1
6368561 Rutishauser et al. Apr 2002 B1
6368871 Christel et al. Apr 2002 B1
6370206 Schenk Apr 2002 B1
6375185 Lin Apr 2002 B1
6375901 Robotti et al. Apr 2002 B1
6379884 Wada et al. Apr 2002 B2
6379929 Burns et al. Apr 2002 B1
6379974 Parce et al. Apr 2002 B1
6382254 Yang et al. May 2002 B1
6391541 Petersen et al. May 2002 B1
6391623 Besemer et al. May 2002 B1
6395161 Schneider et al. May 2002 B1
6398956 Coville et al. Jun 2002 B1
6399025 Chow Jun 2002 B1
6399389 Parce et al. Jun 2002 B1
6399952 Maher et al. Jun 2002 B1
6401552 Elkins Jun 2002 B1
6403338 Knapp et al. Jun 2002 B1
6408878 Unger et al. Jun 2002 B2
6413401 Chow et al. Jul 2002 B1
6416642 Alajoki et al. Jul 2002 B1
6420143 Kopf-sill Jul 2002 B1
6425972 McReynolds Jul 2002 B1
D461906 Pham Aug 2002 S
6428987 Franzen Aug 2002 B2
6430512 Gallagher Aug 2002 B1
6432366 Ruediger et al. Aug 2002 B2
6440725 Pourahmadi et al. Aug 2002 B1
D463031 Slomski et al. Sep 2002 S
6444461 Knapp et al. Sep 2002 B1
6447661 Chow et al. Sep 2002 B1
6447727 Parce et al. Sep 2002 B1
6448047 Dattagupta et al. Sep 2002 B2
6448064 Vo-Dinh et al. Sep 2002 B1
6453928 Kaplan et al. Sep 2002 B1
6458259 Parce et al. Oct 2002 B1
6461570 Ishihara et al. Oct 2002 B2
6465257 Parce et al. Oct 2002 B1
6468761 Yang et al. Oct 2002 B2
6472141 Nikiforov Oct 2002 B2
D466219 Wynschenk et al. Nov 2002 S
6475364 Dubrow et al. Nov 2002 B1
D467348 McMichael et al. Dec 2002 S
D467349 Niedbala et al. Dec 2002 S
6488897 Dubrow et al. Dec 2002 B2
6495104 Unno et al. Dec 2002 B1
6498497 Chow et al. Dec 2002 B1
6500323 Chow et al. Dec 2002 B1
6500390 Boulton et al. Dec 2002 B1
D468437 McMenamy et al. Jan 2003 S
6506609 Wada et al. Jan 2003 B1
6509186 Zou et al. Jan 2003 B1
6509193 Tajima Jan 2003 B1
6511853 Kopf-sill et al. Jan 2003 B1
D470595 Crisanti et al. Feb 2003 S
6515753 Maher Feb 2003 B2
6517783 Horner et al. Feb 2003 B2
6520197 Deshmukh et al. Feb 2003 B2
6521181 Northrup et al. Feb 2003 B1
6521188 Webster Feb 2003 B1
6524456 Ramsey et al. Feb 2003 B1
6524532 Northrup Feb 2003 B1
6524790 Kopf-sill et al. Feb 2003 B1
D472324 Rumore et al. Mar 2003 S
6534295 Tai et al. Mar 2003 B2
6537432 Schneider et al. Mar 2003 B1
6537771 Farinas et al. Mar 2003 B1
6540896 Manz et al. Apr 2003 B1
6544734 Briscoe et al. Apr 2003 B1
6547942 Parce et al. Apr 2003 B1
6555389 Ullman et al. Apr 2003 B1
6556923 Gallagher et al. Apr 2003 B2
D474279 Mayer et al. May 2003 S
D474280 Niedbala et al. May 2003 S
6558916 Veerapandian et al. May 2003 B2
6558945 Kao May 2003 B1
6565815 Chang et al. May 2003 B1
6569607 McReynolds May 2003 B2
6572830 Burdon et al. Jun 2003 B1
6575188 Parunak Jun 2003 B2
6576459 Miles et al. Jun 2003 B2
6579453 Bächler et al. Jun 2003 B1
6589729 Chan et al. Jul 2003 B2
6592821 Wada et al. Jul 2003 B1
6597450 Andrews et al. Jul 2003 B1
6602474 Tajima Aug 2003 B1
6613211 Mccormick et al. Sep 2003 B1
6613512 Kopf-sill et al. Sep 2003 B1
6613580 Chow et al. Sep 2003 B1
6613581 Wada et al. Sep 2003 B1
6614030 Maher et al. Sep 2003 B2
6620625 Wolk et al. Sep 2003 B2
6623860 Hu et al. Sep 2003 B2
6627406 Singh et al. Sep 2003 B1
D480814 Lafferty et al. Oct 2003 S
6632655 Mehta et al. Oct 2003 B1
6633785 Kasahara et al. Oct 2003 B1
D482796 Oyama et al. Nov 2003 S
6640981 Lafond et al. Nov 2003 B2
6649358 Parce et al. Nov 2003 B1
6664104 Pourahmadi et al. Dec 2003 B2
6669831 Chow et al. Dec 2003 B2
6670133 Knapp et al. Dec 2003 B2
6670153 Stern Dec 2003 B2
D484989 Gebrian Jan 2004 S
6672458 Hansen et al. Jan 2004 B2
6681616 Spaid et al. Jan 2004 B2
6681788 Parce et al. Jan 2004 B2
6685813 Williams et al. Feb 2004 B2
6692700 Handique Feb 2004 B2
6695009 Chien et al. Feb 2004 B2
6699713 Benett et al. Mar 2004 B2
6706519 Kellogg et al. Mar 2004 B1
6720148 Nikiforov Apr 2004 B1
6730206 Ricco et al. May 2004 B2
6733645 Chow May 2004 B1
6734401 Bedingham et al. May 2004 B2
6737026 Bergh et al. May 2004 B1
6740518 Duong et al. May 2004 B1
D491272 Alden et al. Jun 2004 S
D491273 Biegler et al. Jun 2004 S
D491276 Langille Jun 2004 S
6750661 Brooks et al. Jun 2004 B2
6752966 Chazan Jun 2004 B1
6756019 Dubrow et al. Jun 2004 B1
6762049 Zou et al. Jul 2004 B2
6764859 Kreuwel et al. Jul 2004 B1
6766817 da Silva Jul 2004 B2
6773567 Wolk Aug 2004 B1
6777184 Nikiforov et al. Aug 2004 B2
6783962 Olander et al. Aug 2004 B1
D495805 Lea et al. Sep 2004 S
6787015 Lackritz et al. Sep 2004 B2
6787016 Tan et al. Sep 2004 B2
6787111 Roach et al. Sep 2004 B2
6790328 Jacobson et al. Sep 2004 B2
6790330 Gascoyne et al. Sep 2004 B2
6811668 Berndt et al. Nov 2004 B1
6818113 Williams et al. Nov 2004 B2
6819027 Saraf Nov 2004 B2
6824663 Boone Nov 2004 B1
D499813 Wu Dec 2004 S
D500142 Crisanti et al. Dec 2004 S
D500363 Fanning et al. Dec 2004 S
6827831 Chow et al. Dec 2004 B1
6827906 Bjornson et al. Dec 2004 B1
6838156 Neyer et al. Jan 2005 B1
6838680 Maher et al. Jan 2005 B2
6852287 Ganesan Feb 2005 B2
6858185 Kopf-sill et al. Feb 2005 B1
6859698 Schmeisser Feb 2005 B2
6861035 Pham et al. Mar 2005 B2
6878540 Pourahmadi et al. Apr 2005 B2
6878755 Singh et al. Apr 2005 B2
6884628 Hubbell et al. Apr 2005 B2
6887693 McMillan et al. May 2005 B2
6893879 Petersen et al. May 2005 B2
6900889 Bjornson et al. May 2005 B2
6905583 Wainright et al. Jun 2005 B2
6905612 Dorian et al. Jun 2005 B2
6906797 Kao et al. Jun 2005 B1
6908594 Schaevitz et al. Jun 2005 B1
6911183 Handique et al. Jun 2005 B1
6914137 Baker Jul 2005 B2
6915679 Chien et al. Jul 2005 B2
6918404 da Silva Jul 2005 B2
D508999 Fanning et al. Aug 2005 S
6939451 Zhao et al. Sep 2005 B2
6940598 Christel et al. Sep 2005 B2
6942771 Kayyem Sep 2005 B1
6951632 Unger et al. Oct 2005 B2
6958392 Fomovskaia et al. Oct 2005 B2
D512155 Matsumoto Nov 2005 S
6964747 Banerjee et al. Nov 2005 B2
6977163 Mehta Dec 2005 B1
6979424 Northrup et al. Dec 2005 B2
6984516 Briscoe et al. Jan 2006 B2
D515707 Sinohara et al. Feb 2006 S
D516221 Wohlstadter et al. Feb 2006 S
7001853 Brown et al. Feb 2006 B1
7004184 Handique et al. Feb 2006 B2
D517554 Yanagisawa et al. Mar 2006 S
7010391 Handique et al. Mar 2006 B2
7023007 Gallagher Apr 2006 B2
7024281 Unno Apr 2006 B1
7036667 Greenstein et al. May 2006 B2
7037416 Parce et al. May 2006 B2
7038472 Chien May 2006 B1
7039527 Tripathi et al. May 2006 B2
7040144 Spaid et al. May 2006 B2
7049558 Baer et al. May 2006 B2
D523153 Akashi et al. Jun 2006 S
7055695 Greenstein et al. Jun 2006 B2
7060171 Nikiforov et al. Jun 2006 B1
7066586 da Silva Jun 2006 B2
7069952 McReynolds et al. Jul 2006 B1
7072036 Jones et al. Jul 2006 B2
7099778 Chien Aug 2006 B2
D528215 Malmsater Sep 2006 S
7101467 Spaid Sep 2006 B2
7105304 Nikiforov et al. Sep 2006 B1
D531321 Godfrey et al. Oct 2006 S
7118892 Ammann et al. Oct 2006 B2
7118910 Unger et al. Oct 2006 B2
7122799 Hsieh et al. Oct 2006 B2
7135144 Christel et al. Nov 2006 B2
7138032 Gandhi et al. Nov 2006 B2
D534280 Gomm et al. Dec 2006 S
7150814 Parce et al. Dec 2006 B1
7150999 Shuck Dec 2006 B1
D535403 Isozaki et al. Jan 2007 S
7160423 Chien et al. Jan 2007 B2
7161356 Chien Jan 2007 B1
7169277 Ausserer et al. Jan 2007 B2
7169601 Northrup et al. Jan 2007 B1
7169618 Skold Jan 2007 B2
D537951 Okamoto et al. Mar 2007 S
D538436 Patadia et al. Mar 2007 S
7188001 Young et al. Mar 2007 B2
7192557 Wu et al. Mar 2007 B2
7195986 Bousse et al. Mar 2007 B1
7205154 Corson Apr 2007 B2
7208125 Dong Apr 2007 B1
7235406 Woudenberg et al. Jun 2007 B1
7247274 Chow Jul 2007 B1
D548841 Brownell et al. Aug 2007 S
D549827 Maeno et al. Aug 2007 S
7252928 Hafeman et al. Aug 2007 B1
7255833 Chang et al. Aug 2007 B2
7270786 Parunak et al. Sep 2007 B2
D554069 Bolotin et al. Oct 2007 S
D554070 Bolotin et al. Oct 2007 S
7276208 Sevigny et al. Oct 2007 B2
7276330 Chow et al. Oct 2007 B2
7288228 Lefebvre Oct 2007 B2
7297313 Northrup et al. Nov 2007 B1
D556914 Okamoto et al. Dec 2007 S
7303727 Dubrow et al. Dec 2007 B1
D559995 Handique et al. Jan 2008 S
7315376 Bickmore et al. Jan 2008 B2
7323140 Handique et al. Jan 2008 B2
7332130 Handique Feb 2008 B2
7338760 Gong et al. Mar 2008 B2
D566291 Parunak et al. Apr 2008 S
7351377 Chazan et al. Apr 2008 B2
D569526 Duffy et al. May 2008 S
7374949 Kuriger May 2008 B2
7390460 Osawa et al. Jun 2008 B2
7419784 Dubrow et al. Sep 2008 B2
7422669 Jacobson et al. Sep 2008 B2
7440684 Spaid et al. Oct 2008 B2
7476313 Siddiqi Jan 2009 B2
7480042 Phillips et al. Jan 2009 B1
7494577 Williams et al. Feb 2009 B2
7494770 Wilding et al. Feb 2009 B2
7514046 Kechagia et al. Apr 2009 B2
7518726 Rulison et al. Apr 2009 B2
7521186 Burd Mehta Apr 2009 B2
7527769 Bunch et al. May 2009 B2
D595423 Johansson et al. Jun 2009 S
7553671 Sinclair et al. Jun 2009 B2
D596312 Giraud et al. Jul 2009 S
D598566 Allaer Aug 2009 S
7578976 Northrup et al. Aug 2009 B1
D599234 Ito Sep 2009 S
7595197 Brasseur Sep 2009 B2
7604938 Takahashi et al. Oct 2009 B2
7622296 Joseph et al. Nov 2009 B2
7628902 Knowlton et al. Dec 2009 B2
7633606 Northrup et al. Dec 2009 B2
7635588 King et al. Dec 2009 B2
7645581 Knapp et al. Jan 2010 B2
7670559 Chien et al. Mar 2010 B2
7674431 Ganesan Mar 2010 B2
7689022 Weiner et al. Mar 2010 B2
7704735 Facer et al. Apr 2010 B2
7705739 Northrup et al. Apr 2010 B2
7723123 Murphy et al. May 2010 B1
D618820 Wilson et al. Jun 2010 S
7727371 Kennedy et al. Jun 2010 B2
7727477 Boronkay et al. Jun 2010 B2
7744817 Bui Jun 2010 B2
D621060 Handique Aug 2010 S
7785868 Yuan et al. Aug 2010 B2
D628305 Gorrec et al. Nov 2010 S
7829025 Ganesan et al. Nov 2010 B2
7858366 Northrup et al. Dec 2010 B2
7867776 Kennedy et al. Jan 2011 B2
7892819 Wilding et al. Feb 2011 B2
D637737 Wilson et al. May 2011 S
7955864 Cox et al. Jun 2011 B2
7987022 Handique et al. Jul 2011 B2
7998708 Handique et al. Aug 2011 B2
8053214 Northrup Nov 2011 B2
8071056 Burns et al. Dec 2011 B2
8088616 Handique Jan 2012 B2
8105783 Handique Jan 2012 B2
8110158 Handique Feb 2012 B2
8133671 Williams et al. Mar 2012 B2
8182763 Duffy et al. May 2012 B2
8246919 Herchenbach et al. Aug 2012 B2
8273308 Handique et al. Sep 2012 B2
D669597 Cavada et al. Oct 2012 S
8287820 Williams et al. Oct 2012 B2
8323584 Ganesan Dec 2012 B2
8323900 Handique et al. Dec 2012 B2
8324372 Brahmasandra et al. Dec 2012 B2
8415103 Handique Apr 2013 B2
8420015 Ganesan et al. Apr 2013 B2
8440149 Handique May 2013 B2
8470586 Wu et al. Jun 2013 B2
8473104 Handique et al. Jun 2013 B2
D686749 Trump Jul 2013 S
D687567 Jungheim et al. Aug 2013 S
D692162 Lentz et al. Oct 2013 S
8592157 Petersen et al. Nov 2013 B2
8679831 Handique et al. Mar 2014 B2
D702854 Nakahana et al. Apr 2014 S
8685341 Ganesan Apr 2014 B2
8703069 Handique et al. Apr 2014 B2
8709787 Handique Apr 2014 B2
8710211 Brahmasandra et al. Apr 2014 B2
8734733 Handique May 2014 B2
D710024 Guo Jul 2014 S
8765076 Handique et al. Jul 2014 B2
8765454 Zhou et al. Jul 2014 B2
8768517 Handique et al. Jul 2014 B2
8852862 Wu et al. Oct 2014 B2
8883490 Handique et al. Nov 2014 B2
8894947 Ganesan et al. Nov 2014 B2
8895311 Handique et al. Nov 2014 B1
D729404 Teich et al. May 2015 S
9028773 Ganesan May 2015 B2
9040288 Handique et al. May 2015 B2
9051604 Handique Jun 2015 B2
9080207 Handique et al. Jul 2015 B2
D742027 Lentz et al. Oct 2015 S
9186677 Williams et al. Nov 2015 B2
9217143 Brahmasandra et al. Dec 2015 B2
9222954 Lentz et al. Dec 2015 B2
9234236 Thomas et al. Jan 2016 B2
9238223 Handique Jan 2016 B2
9259734 Williams et al. Feb 2016 B2
9259735 Handique et al. Feb 2016 B2
9347586 Williams et al. May 2016 B2
9480983 Lentz et al. Nov 2016 B2
9528142 Handique Dec 2016 B2
9618139 Handique Apr 2017 B2
D787087 Duffy et al. Jun 2017 S
9670528 Handique et al. Jun 2017 B2
9677121 Ganesan et al. Jun 2017 B2
9701957 Wilson et al. Jul 2017 B2
9745623 Steel Aug 2017 B2
9765389 Gubatayao et al. Sep 2017 B2
9789481 Petersen et al. Oct 2017 B2
9802199 Handique et al. Oct 2017 B2
9815057 Handique Nov 2017 B2
9958466 Dalbert et al. May 2018 B2
10065185 Handique Sep 2018 B2
10071376 Williams et al. Sep 2018 B2
10076754 Lentz et al. Sep 2018 B2
10100302 Brahmasandra et al. Oct 2018 B2
10139012 Handique Nov 2018 B2
10179910 Duffy et al. Jan 2019 B2
10234474 Williams et al. Mar 2019 B2
10351901 Ganesan et al. Jul 2019 B2
10364456 Wu et al. Jul 2019 B2
10443088 Wu et al. Oct 2019 B1
10494663 Wu et al. Dec 2019 B1
10571935 Handique et al. Feb 2020 B2
10590410 Brahmasandra et al. Mar 2020 B2
10604788 Wu et al. Mar 2020 B2
10619191 Ganesan et al. Apr 2020 B2
10625261 Williams Apr 2020 B2
10625262 Williams Apr 2020 B2
10632466 Williams Apr 2020 B1
10695764 Handique et al. Jun 2020 B2
10710069 Handique et al. Jul 2020 B2
10717085 Williams et al. Jul 2020 B2
10731201 Handique et al. Aug 2020 B2
10781482 Gubatayao et al. Sep 2020 B2
10799862 Handique et al. Oct 2020 B2
10821436 Handique et al. Nov 2020 B2
10821446 Handique et al. Nov 2020 B1
10822644 Steel et al. Nov 2020 B2
10843188 Handique et al. Nov 2020 B2
10844368 Duffy et al. Nov 2020 B2
10857535 Handique et al. Dec 2020 B2
20010005489 Roach et al. Jun 2001 A1
20010012492 Acosta et al. Aug 2001 A1
20010016358 Osawa et al. Aug 2001 A1
20010018513 Baker Aug 2001 A1
20010021355 Baugh et al. Sep 2001 A1
20010023848 Gjerde et al. Sep 2001 A1
20010038450 McCaffrey et al. Nov 2001 A1
20010045358 Kopf-Sill et al. Nov 2001 A1
20010046702 Schembri Nov 2001 A1
20010048899 Marouiss et al. Dec 2001 A1
20010051340 Singh et al. Dec 2001 A1
20010055765 O'Keefe et al. Dec 2001 A1
20020001848 Bedingham et al. Jan 2002 A1
20020008053 Hansen et al. Jan 2002 A1
20020009015 Laugharn, Jr. et al. Jan 2002 A1
20020014443 Hansen et al. Feb 2002 A1
20020015667 Chow Feb 2002 A1
20020021983 Comte et al. Feb 2002 A1
20020022261 Anderson et al. Feb 2002 A1
20020037499 Quake et al. Mar 2002 A1
20020039783 McMillan et al. Apr 2002 A1
20020047003 Bedingham et al. Apr 2002 A1
20020053399 Soane et al. May 2002 A1
20020054835 Robotti et al. May 2002 A1
20020055167 Pourahmadi et al. May 2002 A1
20020058332 Quake et al. May 2002 A1
20020060156 Mathies et al. May 2002 A1
20020068357 Mathies et al. Jun 2002 A1
20020068821 Gundling Jun 2002 A1
20020086443 Bamdad Jul 2002 A1
20020090320 Burow et al. Jul 2002 A1
20020092767 Bjornson et al. Jul 2002 A1
20020094303 Yamamoto et al. Jul 2002 A1
20020131903 Ingenhoven et al. Sep 2002 A1
20020141903 Parunak et al. Oct 2002 A1
20020143297 Francavilla et al. Oct 2002 A1
20020155010 Karp et al. Oct 2002 A1
20020155477 Ito Oct 2002 A1
20020169518 Luoma et al. Nov 2002 A1
20020173032 Zou et al. Nov 2002 A1
20020176804 Strand et al. Nov 2002 A1
20020187557 Hobbs et al. Dec 2002 A1
20020192808 Gambini et al. Dec 2002 A1
20030008308 Enzelberger et al. Jan 2003 A1
20030008320 Baker Jan 2003 A1
20030019522 Parunak Jan 2003 A1
20030022392 Hudak Jan 2003 A1
20030036067 Schwartz Feb 2003 A1
20030049833 Chen et al. Mar 2003 A1
20030059823 Matsunaga et al. Mar 2003 A1
20030064507 Gallagher et al. Apr 2003 A1
20030072683 Stewart et al. Apr 2003 A1
20030073106 Johansen et al. Apr 2003 A1
20030083686 Freeman et al. May 2003 A1
20030087300 Knapp et al. May 2003 A1
20030096310 Hansen et al. May 2003 A1
20030099954 Miltenyi et al. May 2003 A1
20030124611 Schwartz Jul 2003 A1
20030127327 Kurnik Jul 2003 A1
20030134333 Dehlinger et al. Jul 2003 A1
20030136679 Bohn et al. Jul 2003 A1
20030156991 Halas et al. Aug 2003 A1
20030180192 Seippel Sep 2003 A1
20030186295 Colin et al. Oct 2003 A1
20030190608 Blackburn et al. Oct 2003 A1
20030199081 Wilding et al. Oct 2003 A1
20030211517 Carulli et al. Nov 2003 A1
20040014202 King et al. Jan 2004 A1
20040014238 Krug et al. Jan 2004 A1
20040018116 Desmond et al. Jan 2004 A1
20040018119 Massaro Jan 2004 A1
20040022689 Wulf et al. Feb 2004 A1
20040029258 Heaney et al. Feb 2004 A1
20040029260 Hansen et al. Feb 2004 A1
20040037739 McNeely et al. Feb 2004 A1
20040043479 Briscoe et al. Mar 2004 A1
20040053290 Terbrueggen et al. Mar 2004 A1
20040063217 Webster et al. Apr 2004 A1
20040065655 Brown Apr 2004 A1
20040072278 Chou et al. Apr 2004 A1
20040072375 Gjerde et al. Apr 2004 A1
20040076996 Kondo et al. Apr 2004 A1
20040086427 Childers et al. May 2004 A1
20040086956 Bachur May 2004 A1
20040132059 Scurati et al. Jul 2004 A1
20040141887 Mainquist et al. Jul 2004 A1
20040151629 Pease et al. Aug 2004 A1
20040157220 Kurnool et al. Aug 2004 A1
20040161788 Chen et al. Aug 2004 A1
20040171515 Hamers et al. Sep 2004 A1
20040189311 Glezer et al. Sep 2004 A1
20040197810 Takenaka et al. Oct 2004 A1
20040200909 McMillan et al. Oct 2004 A1
20040209331 Ririe Oct 2004 A1
20040209354 Mathies et al. Oct 2004 A1
20040224317 Kordunsky et al. Nov 2004 A1
20040235154 Oh et al. Nov 2004 A1
20040240097 Evans Dec 2004 A1
20050009174 Nikiforov et al. Jan 2005 A1
20050013737 Chow et al. Jan 2005 A1
20050019902 Mathies et al. Jan 2005 A1
20050037471 Liu et al. Feb 2005 A1
20050041525 Pugia et al. Feb 2005 A1
20050042639 Knapp et al. Feb 2005 A1
20050048540 Inami et al. Mar 2005 A1
20050058574 Bysouth et al. Mar 2005 A1
20050058577 Micklash et al. Mar 2005 A1
20050064535 Favuzzi et al. Mar 2005 A1
20050069898 Moon et al. Mar 2005 A1
20050084424 Ganesan et al. Apr 2005 A1
20050106066 Saltsman et al. May 2005 A1
20050112754 Yoon et al. May 2005 A1
20050121324 Park et al. Jun 2005 A1
20050129580 Swinehart et al. Jun 2005 A1
20050130198 Ammann et al. Jun 2005 A1
20050133370 Park et al. Jun 2005 A1
20050135655 Kopf-sill et al. Jun 2005 A1
20050142036 Kim et al. Jun 2005 A1
20050158781 Woudenberg et al. Jul 2005 A1
20050170362 Wada et al. Aug 2005 A1
20050186585 Juncosa et al. Aug 2005 A1
20050196321 Huang Sep 2005 A1
20050202470 Sundberg et al. Sep 2005 A1
20050202489 Cho et al. Sep 2005 A1
20050202504 Anderson et al. Sep 2005 A1
20050205788 Itoh Sep 2005 A1
20050208676 Kahatt Sep 2005 A1
20050214172 Burgisser Sep 2005 A1
20050220675 Reed et al. Oct 2005 A1
20050227269 Lloyd et al. Oct 2005 A1
20050233370 Ammann et al. Oct 2005 A1
20050238545 Parce et al. Oct 2005 A1
20050239127 Ammann et al. Oct 2005 A1
20050266489 Ammann et al. Dec 2005 A1
20050276728 Muller-Cohn et al. Dec 2005 A1
20060002817 Bohm et al. Jan 2006 A1
20060003373 Ammann et al. Jan 2006 A1
20060041058 Yin et al. Feb 2006 A1
20060057039 Morse et al. Mar 2006 A1
20060057629 Kim Mar 2006 A1
20060058519 Deggerdal et al. Mar 2006 A1
20060062696 Chow et al. Mar 2006 A1
20060081539 Safar et al. Apr 2006 A1
20060094004 Nakajima et al. May 2006 A1
20060094108 Yoder et al. May 2006 A1
20060113190 Kurnik Jun 2006 A1
20060133965 Tajima et al. Jun 2006 A1
20060134790 Tanaka et al. Jun 2006 A1
20060148063 Fauzzi et al. Jul 2006 A1
20060154341 Chen Jul 2006 A1
20060165558 Witty et al. Jul 2006 A1
20060165559 Greenstein et al. Jul 2006 A1
20060177376 Tomalia et al. Aug 2006 A1
20060177855 Utermohlen et al. Aug 2006 A1
20060183216 Handique Aug 2006 A1
20060201887 Siddiqi Sep 2006 A1
20060205085 Handique Sep 2006 A1
20060207944 Siddiqi Sep 2006 A1
20060210435 Alavie et al. Sep 2006 A1
20060223169 Bedingham et al. Oct 2006 A1
20060228734 Vann et al. Oct 2006 A1
20060246493 Jensen et al. Nov 2006 A1
20060246533 Fathollahi et al. Nov 2006 A1
20060269641 Atwood et al. Nov 2006 A1
20060269961 Fukushima et al. Nov 2006 A1
20070004028 Lair et al. Jan 2007 A1
20070009386 Padmanabhan et al. Jan 2007 A1
20070020699 Carpenter et al. Jan 2007 A1
20070020764 Miller Jan 2007 A1
20070026421 Sundberg et al. Feb 2007 A1
20070042441 Masters et al. Feb 2007 A1
20070048188 Bigus Mar 2007 A1
20070054413 Aviles et al. Mar 2007 A1
20070077643 Nakamura et al. Apr 2007 A1
20070077648 Okamoto et al. Apr 2007 A1
20070092901 Ligler et al. Apr 2007 A1
20070098600 Kayyem et al. May 2007 A1
20070099200 Chow et al. May 2007 A1
20070104617 Coulling et al. May 2007 A1
20070116613 Elsener May 2007 A1
20070154895 Spaid et al. Jul 2007 A1
20070177147 Parce Aug 2007 A1
20070178607 Prober et al. Aug 2007 A1
20070184463 Molho et al. Aug 2007 A1
20070184547 Handique et al. Aug 2007 A1
20070196237 Neuzil et al. Aug 2007 A1
20070196238 Kennedy et al. Aug 2007 A1
20070199821 Chow Aug 2007 A1
20070215554 Kreuwel et al. Sep 2007 A1
20070218459 Miller et al. Sep 2007 A1
20070231213 Prabhu et al. Oct 2007 A1
20070243626 Windeyer et al. Oct 2007 A1
20070248958 Jovanovich et al. Oct 2007 A1
20070261479 Spaid et al. Nov 2007 A1
20070269861 Williams et al. Nov 2007 A1
20070292941 Handique et al. Dec 2007 A1
20080000774 Park et al. Jan 2008 A1
20080003649 Maltezos et al. Jan 2008 A1
20080017306 Liu et al. Jan 2008 A1
20080056948 Dale et al. Mar 2008 A1
20080069729 McNeely Mar 2008 A1
20080090244 Knapp et al. Apr 2008 A1
20080095673 Xu Apr 2008 A1
20080118987 Eastwood et al. May 2008 A1
20080124723 Dale et al. May 2008 A1
20080176230 Owen et al. Jul 2008 A1
20080192254 Kim et al. Aug 2008 A1
20080226502 Jonsmann et al. Sep 2008 A1
20080240898 Manz et al. Oct 2008 A1
20080247914 Edens et al. Oct 2008 A1
20080257882 Turner Oct 2008 A1
20080280285 Chen et al. Nov 2008 A1
20080308500 Brassard Dec 2008 A1
20090047180 Kawahara Feb 2009 A1
20090066339 Glezer et al. Mar 2009 A1
20090136385 Handique et al. May 2009 A1
20090148933 Battrell et al. Jun 2009 A1
20090189089 Bedingham et al. Jul 2009 A1
20090223925 Morse et al. Sep 2009 A1
20090325164 Vossenaar et al. Dec 2009 A1
20090325276 Battrell et al. Dec 2009 A1
20100009351 Brahmasandra et al. Jan 2010 A1
20100120129 Amshey et al. May 2010 A1
20100233763 Shigeura et al. Sep 2010 A1
20100284864 Holenstein et al. Nov 2010 A1
20110008825 Ingber et al. Jan 2011 A1
20110027151 Handique et al. Feb 2011 A1
20110060136 Matsunaga Mar 2011 A1
20110097493 Kerr et al. Apr 2011 A1
20110127292 Sarofim et al. Jun 2011 A1
20110158865 Miller et al. Jun 2011 A1
20110287447 Norderhaug Nov 2011 A1
20110300033 Battisti Dec 2011 A1
20120122231 Tajima May 2012 A1
20120160826 Handique Jun 2012 A1
20120171678 Maltezos et al. Jul 2012 A1
20120258463 Duffy et al. Oct 2012 A1
20130183769 Tajima Jul 2013 A1
20130210127 Williams Aug 2013 A1
20130217013 Steel et al. Aug 2013 A1
20130315800 Yin et al. Nov 2013 A1
20140030798 Wu et al. Jan 2014 A1
20140120544 Brahmasandra May 2014 A1
20140227710 Handique et al. Aug 2014 A1
20140329301 Handique et al. Nov 2014 A1
20150045234 Stone et al. Feb 2015 A1
20150064702 Handique et al. Mar 2015 A1
20150174579 Iten et al. Jun 2015 A1
20150315631 Handique et al. Nov 2015 A1
20160038942 Roberts Feb 2016 A1
20170275702 Dahiya et al. Sep 2017 A1
20180112252 Handique Apr 2018 A1
20180135102 Gubatayao et al. May 2018 A1
20180154364 Handique et al. Jun 2018 A1
20180333722 Handique Nov 2018 A1
20190054467 Handique Feb 2019 A1
20190054471 Williams et al. Feb 2019 A1
20190144849 Duffy et al. May 2019 A1
20190145546 Handique May 2019 A1
20190151854 Baum et al. May 2019 A1
20190154719 LaChance et al. May 2019 A1
20190284606 Wu et al. Sep 2019 A1
20190324050 Williams et al. Oct 2019 A1
20200139363 Handique et al. May 2020 A1
20200156059 Handique et al. May 2020 A1
20200156060 Handique et al. May 2020 A1
20200164363 Handique et al. May 2020 A1
20200216831 Brahmasandra Jul 2020 A1
20200291388 Brahmasandra et al. Sep 2020 A1
20200324293 Handique et al. Oct 2020 A1
20200325523 Brahmasandra et al. Oct 2020 A1
20200325524 Handique et al. Oct 2020 A1
Foreign Referenced Citations (246)
Number Date Country
1357102 Mar 2002 AU
3557502 Jul 2002 AU
4437602 Jul 2002 AU
4437702 Jul 2002 AU
764319 Aug 2003 AU
2574107 Sep 1998 CA
2294819 Jan 1999 CA
1312287 Apr 2007 CN
1942590 Apr 2007 CN
1968754 May 2007 CN
101466848 Jun 2009 CN
101522909 Sep 2009 CN
103540518 Jan 2014 CN
19755479 Jun 1999 DE
19929734 Dec 1999 DE
19833293 Jan 2000 DE
0136126 Apr 1985 EP
0365828 May 1990 EP
0483620 May 1992 EP
0402994 Nov 1994 EP
0393744 Jan 1995 EP
0688602 Dec 1995 EP
0707077 Apr 1996 EP
0698046 Mar 1997 EP
0766256 Apr 1997 EP
0772494 May 1997 EP
0810030 Dec 1997 EP
1059458 Dec 2000 EP
1064090 Jan 2001 EP
1077086 Feb 2001 EP
1346772 Sep 2003 EP
1541237 Jun 2005 EP
1574586 Sep 2005 EP
1621890 Feb 2006 EP
1745153 Jan 2007 EP
1780290 May 2007 EP
1792656 Jun 2007 EP
2372367 Oct 2011 EP
2672301 Aug 1992 FR
2795426 Dec 2000 FR
2453432 Apr 2009 GB
S50-100881 Aug 1975 JP
58212921 Dec 1983 JP
S62-119460 May 1987 JP
H01-502319 Aug 1989 JP
H 03181853 Aug 1991 JP
04-053555 May 1992 JP
06-064156 Sep 1994 JP
07-020010 Jan 1995 JP
H07-290706 Nov 1995 JP
H08-122336 May 1996 JP
H08-173194 Jul 1996 JP
H08-211071 Aug 1996 JP
H08-285859 Nov 1996 JP
H08-337116 Dec 1996 JP
H09-304385 Nov 1997 JP
H09-325151 Dec 1997 JP
2001-502790 Jan 1998 JP
H01-219669 Sep 1998 JP
H10-327515 Dec 1998 JP
H11-009258 Jan 1999 JP
H11-501504 Feb 1999 JP
H11-503315 Mar 1999 JP
2000-514928 Apr 1999 JP
H11-156231 Jun 1999 JP
H11-316226 Nov 1999 JP
H11-515106 Dec 1999 JP
2000-180455 Jun 2000 JP
2000-266760 Sep 2000 JP
2000-275255 Oct 2000 JP
2001-502319 Feb 2001 JP
2001-204462 Jul 2001 JP
2001-509437 Jul 2001 JP
3191150 Jul 2001 JP
2001-515216 Sep 2001 JP
2001-523812 Nov 2001 JP
2001-527220 Dec 2001 JP
2002-503331 Jan 2002 JP
2002-085961 Mar 2002 JP
2002-517735 Jun 2002 JP
2002-215241 Jul 2002 JP
2002-540382 Nov 2002 JP
2002-544476 Dec 2002 JP
2003-500674 Jan 2003 JP
2003-047839 Feb 2003 JP
2003-047840 Feb 2003 JP
2003-516125 May 2003 JP
2003-164279 Jun 2003 JP
2003-185584 Jul 2003 JP
2003-299485 Oct 2003 JP
2003-329693 Nov 2003 JP
2003-329696 Nov 2003 JP
2003-532382 Nov 2003 JP
2004-003989 Jan 2004 JP
2004-506179 Feb 2004 JP
2004-150797 May 2004 JP
2004-283728 Oct 2004 JP
2004-531360 Oct 2004 JP
2004-533838 Nov 2004 JP
2004-534157 Nov 2004 JP
2004-361421 Dec 2004 JP
2004-536291 Dec 2004 JP
2004-536689 Dec 2004 JP
2005-009870 Jan 2005 JP
2005-010179 Jan 2005 JP
2005-511264 Apr 2005 JP
2005-514718 May 2005 JP
2005-518825 Jun 2005 JP
2005-176613 Jul 2005 JP
2005-192439 Jul 2005 JP
2005-192554 Jul 2005 JP
2005-519751 Jul 2005 JP
2005-204661 Aug 2005 JP
2005-525816 Sep 2005 JP
2005-291954 Oct 2005 JP
2005-532043 Oct 2005 JP
2005-323519 Nov 2005 JP
2005-533652 Nov 2005 JP
2005-535904 Nov 2005 JP
2006-021156 Jan 2006 JP
2006-055837 Mar 2006 JP
2006-094866 Apr 2006 JP
2006-145458 Jun 2006 JP
2006-167569 Jun 2006 JP
2006-284409 Oct 2006 JP
2007-024742 Feb 2007 JP
2007-074960 Mar 2007 JP
2007-097477 Apr 2007 JP
2007-101364 Apr 2007 JP
2007-510518 Apr 2007 JP
2007-514405 Jun 2007 JP
2007-178328 Jul 2007 JP
2007-535933 Dec 2007 JP
2009-515140 Apr 2009 JP
2009-542207 Dec 2009 JP
3193848 Oct 2014 JP
1020060044489 May 2006 KR
2418633 May 2011 RU
WO 1988006633 Sep 1988 WO
WO 1990012350 Oct 1990 WO
WO 1992005443 Apr 1992 WO
WO 1994005414 Mar 1994 WO
WO 1994011103 May 1994 WO
WO 1995033846 Dec 1994 WO
WO 1996000228 Jan 1996 WO
WO 1996004547 Feb 1996 WO
WO 1996018731 Jun 1996 WO
WO 1996039547 Dec 1996 WO
WO 1997005492 Feb 1997 WO
WO 1997016835 May 1997 WO
WO 1997021090 Jun 1997 WO
WO 1997022825 Jun 1997 WO
WO 1997027324 Jul 1997 WO
WO 1998000231 Jan 1998 WO
WO 1998007019 Feb 1998 WO
WO 1998022625 May 1998 WO
WO 1998035013 Aug 1998 WO
WO 1998038487 Sep 1998 WO
WO 1998049548 Nov 1998 WO
WO 1998050147 Nov 1998 WO
WO 1998053311 Nov 1998 WO
WO 1999001688 Jan 1999 WO
WO 1999009042 Feb 1999 WO
WO 1999012016 Mar 1999 WO
WO 1999017093 Apr 1999 WO
WO 1999029703 Jun 1999 WO
WO 1999033559 Jul 1999 WO
WO 1999060397 Nov 1999 WO
WO 2000022436 Apr 2000 WO
WO 2000075623 Dec 2000 WO
WO 2000078455 Dec 2000 WO
WO 2001005510 Jan 2001 WO
WO 2001014931 Mar 2001 WO
WO 2001027614 Apr 2001 WO
WO 2001028684 Apr 2001 WO
WO 2001030995 May 2001 WO
WO 2001041931 Jun 2001 WO
WO 2001046474 Jun 2001 WO
WO 2001054813 Aug 2001 WO
WO 2001089681 Nov 2001 WO
WO 2001089705 Nov 2001 WO
WO 2001092569 Dec 2001 WO
WO 2002048164 Jun 2002 WO
WO 2002052002 Jul 2002 WO
WO 2002072264 Sep 2002 WO
WO 2002078845 Oct 2002 WO
WO 2002086454 Oct 2002 WO
WO 2002094185 Nov 2002 WO
WO 2003007677 Jan 2003 WO
WO 2003012325 Feb 2003 WO
WO 2003012406 Feb 2003 WO
WO 2003048295 Jun 2003 WO
WO 2003055605 Jul 2003 WO
WO 2003076661 Sep 2003 WO
WO 2003078065 Sep 2003 WO
WO 2003080868 Oct 2003 WO
WO 2003087410 Oct 2003 WO
WO 2004007081 Jan 2004 WO
WO 2004010760 Feb 2004 WO
WO 2004048545 Jun 2004 WO
WO 2004055522 Jul 2004 WO
WO 2004056485 Jul 2004 WO
WO 2004074848 Sep 2004 WO
WO 2004094986 Nov 2004 WO
WO 2005008255 Jan 2005 WO
WO 2005011867 Feb 2005 WO
WO 2005030984 Apr 2005 WO
WO 2005072353 Aug 2005 WO
WO 2005094981 Oct 2005 WO
WO 2005107947 Nov 2005 WO
WO 2005108571 Nov 2005 WO
WO 2005108620 Nov 2005 WO
WO 2005116202 Dec 2005 WO
WO 2005118867 Dec 2005 WO
WO 2005120710 Dec 2005 WO
WO 2006010584 Feb 2006 WO
WO 2006032044 Mar 2006 WO
WO 2006035800 Apr 2006 WO
WO 2006043642 Apr 2006 WO
WO 2006066001 Jun 2006 WO
WO 2006079082 Jul 2006 WO
WO 2006081995 Aug 2006 WO
WO 2006113198 Oct 2006 WO
WO 2006118420 Nov 2006 WO
WO 2006119280 Nov 2006 WO
WO 2007044917 Apr 2007 WO
WO-2007041619 Apr 2007 WO
WO 2007050327 May 2007 WO
WO 2007064117 Jun 2007 WO
WO 2007075919 Jul 2007 WO
WO 2007091530 Aug 2007 WO
WO 2007112114 Oct 2007 WO
WO 2007120240 Oct 2007 WO
WO 2007120241 Oct 2007 WO
WO 2008005321 Jan 2008 WO
WO 2008030914 Mar 2008 WO
WO 2008060604 May 2008 WO
WO-2008134470 Nov 2008 WO
WO 2008149282 Dec 2008 WO
WO 2009012185 Jan 2009 WO
WO 2009054870 Apr 2009 WO
WO 2010118541 Oct 2010 WO
WO 2010130310 Nov 2010 WO
WO 2010140680 Dec 2010 WO
WO 2011009073 Jan 2011 WO
WO 2011101467 Aug 2011 WO
Non-Patent Literature Citations (420)
Entry
Devarakonda et al., “The effect of PAMAM dendrimer generation size and surface functional group on the aqueous solubility of nifedipine” International Journal of Pharmaceutics vol. 284 pp. 133-140 (Year: 2004).
Benters et al., “Dendrimer-Activated Solid Supports for Nucleic Acid and Protein Microarrays” ChemBioChem vol. 2 pp. 686-694 (Year: 2001).
Allemand et al., “pH-Dependent Specific Binding and Combing of DNA”, Biophys J. (1997) 73(4): 2064-2070.
Altet et al., [Eds.] “Thermal Transfer and Thermal Coupling in IC's”, Thermal Testing of Integrated Circuits; Chapter 2 (2002) Springer Science pp. 23-51.
Ateya et al., “The good, the bad, and the tiny: a review of microflow cytometry”, Anal Bioanal Chem. (2008) 391(5):1485-1498.
Auroux et al., “Miniaturised nucleic acid analysis”, Lab Chip. (2004) 4(6):534-546.
Baechi et al., “High-density microvalve arrays for sample processing in PCR chips”, Biomed Microdevices. (2001) 3(3):183-190.
Baker M., “Clever PCR: more genotyping, smaller volumes.” Nature Methods (May 2010) 70(5):351-356.
Becker H. “Fabrication of Polymer Microfluidic Devices”, in Biochip Technology (2001), Chapter 4, pp. 63-96.
Becker H., “Microfluidic Devices Fabricated by Polymer Hot Embossing,” in Integrated Microfabricated Biodevices: Advanced Technologies for Genomics, Drug Discovery, Bioanalysis, and Clinical Diagnostics (2002), Chapter 13, 32 pages.
Becker H., “Microfluidics: A Technology Coming of Age”, Med Device Technol. (2008) 19(3):21-24.
Becker et al., “Portable CE system with contactless conductivity detection in an injection molded polymer chip for on-site food analysis”, SPIE Proceedings MOEMS-MEMS 2008 Micro and Nanofabrication (2008) vol. 6886 in 8 pages.
Becker H., “Hype, hope and hubris: the quest for the killer application in microfluidics”, Lab on a Chip, The Royal Society of Chemistry (2009) 9:2119-2122.
Becker H., “Collective Wisdom”, Lab on a Chip, The Royal Society of Chemistry (2010) 10:1351-1354.
Belgrader et al., “Rapid PCR for Identity Testing Using a Battery-Powered Miniature Thermal Cycler”, J Forensic Sci. (1998) 43(2):315-319.
Belgrader et al., “A minisonicator to rapidly disrupt bacterial spores for DNA analysis”, Anal Chem. (1999) 71 (19):4232-4236.
Belgrader et al., “Real-time PCR Analysis on Nucleic Acids Purified from Plasma Using a Silicon Chip”, Micro Total Analysis Systems 2000 (pp. 525-528). Springer, Dordrecht.
Belgrader et al., “A microfluidic cartridge to prepare spores for PCR analysis”, Biosens Bioelectron. (2000) 14(10-11):849-852.
Belgrader et al., “A Battery-Powered Notebook Thermal Cycler for Rapid Multiplex Real-Time PCR Analysis”, Anal Chem. (2001) 73(2):286-289.
Belgrader et al., “Rapid and Automated Cartridge-based Extraction of Leukocytes from Whole Blood for Microsatellite DNA Analysis by Capillary Electrophoresis”, Clin Chem. (2001) 47(10):1917-1933.
Belgrader et al., “A Rapid, Flow-through, DNA Extraction Module for Integration into Microfluidic Systems”, Micro Total Analysis Systems (2002) pp. 697-699). Springer, Dordrecht.
Belgrader et al., “Development of a Battery-Powered Portable Instrumentation for Rapid PCR Analysis”, in Integrated Microfabricated Devices, (2002) Ch. 8, pp. 183-206, CRC Press.
Bell M., “Integrated Microsystems in Clinical Chemistry”, in Integrated Microfabricated Devices (2002) Ch. 16, pp. 415-435, CRC Press.
Berthier et al., “Managing evaporation for more robust microscale assays Part 1. Volume loss in high throughput assays”, Lab Chip (2008) 8(6):852-859.
Berthier et al., “Managing evaporation for more robust microscale assays Part 2. Characterization of convection and diffusion for cell biology”, Lab Chip (2008) 8(6):860-864.
Berthier et al., “Microdrops,” in Microfluidics for Biotechnology (2006), Chapter 2, pp. 51-88.
BIOMERIEUX Press Release: “bioMérieux—2018 Financial Results,” dated Feb. 27, 2019, accessed at www.biomerieux.com, pp. 13.
Blanchard et al., “Micro structure mechanical failure characterization using rotating Couette flow in a small gap”, J Micromech Microengin. (2005) 15(4):792-801.
Blanchard et al., “Single-disk and double-disk viscous micropumps”, Sensors and Actuators A (2005) 122:149-158.
Blanchard et al., “Performance and Development of a Miniature Rotary Shaft Pump”, J Fluids Eng. (2005) 127(4):752-760.
Blanchard et al., “Single-disk and double-disk viscous micropump”, ASME 2004 Inter'l Mechanical Engineering Congress & Exposition, Nov. 13-20, 2004, Anaheim, CA, IMECE2004-61705:411-417.
Blanchard et al., “Miniature Single-Disk Viscous Pump (Single-DVP), Performance Characterization”, J Fluids Eng. (2006) 128(3):602-610.
Bollet, C. et al., “A simple method for the isolation of chromosomal DNA from Gram positive or acid-fast bacteria”, Nucleic Acids Research, vol. 19, No. 8 (1991), p. 1955.
Brahmasandra et al., On-chip DNA detection in microfabricated separation systems, SPIE Conference on Microfluidic Devices and Systems, 1998, vol. 3515, pp. 242-251, Santa Clara, CA.
Brahmasandra et al., “Microfabricated Devices for Integrated DNA Analysis”, in Biochip Technology by Cheng et al., [Eds.] (2001) pp. 229-250.
Breadmore, M.C. et al., “Microchip-Based Purification of DNA from Biological Samples”, Anal. Chem., vol. 75 (2003), pp. 1880-1886.
Brody, et al., Diffusion-Based Extraction in a Microfabricated Device, Sensors and Actuators Elsevier, 1997, vol. A58, No. 1, pp. 13-18.
Broyles et al., “Sample Filtration, Concentration, and Separation Integrated on Microfluidic Devices” Analytical Chemistry (American Chemical Society), (2003) 75(11): 2761-2767.
Bu et al., “Design and theoretical evaluation of a novel microfluidic device to be used for PCR”, J Micromech Microengin. (2003) 13(4):S125-S130.
Burns et al., “An Integrated Nanoliter DNA Analysis Device”, Science 282:484-487 (1998).
Cady et al., “Real-time PCR detection of Listeria monocytogenes using an integrated microfluidics platform”, Sensors Actuat B. (2005) 107:332-341.
Carlen et al., “Paraffin Actuated Surface Micromachined Valve,” in IEEE MEMS 2000 Conference, Miyazaki, Japan (Jan. 2000) pp. 381-385.
Carles et al., “Polymerase Chain Reaction on Microchips” in Methods in Molecular Biology—Microfluidic Techniques, Reviews & Protocols by Minteer S.D. [Ed.] Humana Press (2006), vol. 321; Chapter 11, pp. 131-140.
Chang-Yen et al., “A novel integrated optical dissolved oxygen sensor for cell culture and micro total analysis systems”, IEEE Technical Digest MEMS International Conference Jan. 24, 2002, 4 pages.
Chang-Yen et al., “A PDMS microfluidic spotter for fabrication of lipid microarrays”, IEEE 3rd EMBS Special Topic Conference May 12-15, 2005; 2 pages.
Chang-Yen et al., “Design and fabrication of a multianalyte-capable optical biosensor using a multiphysics approach”, IEEE 3rd EMBS Special Topic Conference May 12-15, 2005; 2 pages.
Chang-Yen et al., “A Novel PDMS Microfluidic Spotter for Fabrication of Protein Chips and Microarrays”, IEEE J of Microelectromech Sys. (2006) 15(5): 1145-1151.
Chang-Yen et al., “Design, fabrication, and packaging of a practical multianalyte-capable optical biosensor,” J Microlith Microfab Microsyst. (2006) 5(2):021105 in 8 pages.
Chang-Yen et al., “Spin-assembled nanofilms for gaseous oxygen sensing.” Sens Actuators B: Chemical (2007), 120(2):426-433.
Chaudhari et al., “Transient Liquid Crystal Thermometry of Microfabricated PCR Vessel Arrays”, J Microelectro Sys., (1998) 7(4):345-355.
Chen P-C., “Accelerating micro-scale PCR (polymerase chain reactor) for modular lab-on-a-chip system”, LSU Master's Theses—Digital Commons, (2006) 111 pages.
Chen et al., “Total nucleic acid analysis integrated on microfluidic devices,” Lab on a Chip. (2007) 7:1413-1423.
Cheng et al., “Biochip-Based Portable Laboratory”, Biochip Tech. (2001):269-289.
Cho et al., “A facility for characterizing the steady-state and dynamic thermal performance of microelectromechanical system thermal switches”, Rev Sci Instrum. (2008) 79(3):034901-1 to -8.
Chong et al., “Disposable Polydimethylsioxane Package for ‘Bio-Microfluidic System’”, IEEE Proceedings Electronic Components and Technology (2005); 5 pages.
Chou et al., “A miniaturized cyclic PCR device—modeling and experiments”, Microelec Eng. (2002) 61-62:921-925.
Christel et al., “Nucleic Acid Concentration and PCR for Diagnostic Applications”, in Micro Total Analysis Systems. (1998) D.J. Harrison et al. [Eds.] pp. 277-280.
Christel et al., “Rapid, Automated Nucleic Acid Probe Assays Using Silicon Microstructures for Nucleic Acid Concentration”, J Biomech Eng. (1999) 121(1):22-27.
Christensen et al., “Characterization of interconnects used in PDMS microfluidic systems”, J Micromech Microeng. (2005) 15:928 in 8 pages.
Chung, Y. et al., “Microfluidic chip for high efficiency DNA extraction”, Miniaturisation for Chemistry, Biology & Bioengineering, vol. 4, No. 2 (Apr. 2004), pp. 141-147.
Cooley et al., “Applications of Ink-Jet Printing Technology to BioMEMS and Microfluidic Systems”, Proceedings, SPIE Conference on Microfluids and BioMEMS, (Oct. 2001), 12 pages.
Crews et al., “Rapid Prototyping of a Continuous-Flow PCR Microchip”, Proceedings of the AiChE Annual Meeting (Nov. 15, 2006) (335a) 3 pages.
Crews et al., Thermal gradient PCR in a continuous-flow microchip. In Microfluidics, BioMEMS, and Medical Microsystems V; Jan. 2007; vol. 6465, p. 646504; 12 pages.
Crews et al., “Continuous-flow thermal gradient PCR”, Biomed Microdevices. (2008) 10(2):187-195.
Cui et al., “Electrothermal modeling of silicon PCR chips”, In MEMS Design, Fabrication, Characterization, and Packaging, (Apr. 2001) (vol. 4407, pp. 275-280.
Cui et al., “Design and Experiment of Silicon PCR Chips,” Proc. SPIE 4755, Design, Test, Integration, and Packaging of MEMS/MOEMS 2002, (Apr. 19, 2002) pp. 71-76.
Danaher Press Release: “Danaher to Acquire Cepheid for $53.00 per share, or approximately $4 Billion,” dated Sep. 6, 2016, accessed at www.danaher.com, pp. 3.
Demchenko A.P., “The problem of self-calibration of fluorescence signal in microscale sensor systems”, Lab Chip. (2005) 5(11):1210-1223.
Dineva et al., “Sample preparation: a challenge in the development of point-of-care nucleic acid-based assays for resource-limited settings”, Analyst. (2007) 132(12):1193-1199.
Dishinger et al., “Multiplexed Detection and Applications for Separations on Parallel Microchips”, Electophoresis. (2008) 29(16):3296-3305.
Dittrich et al., “Single-molecule fluorescence detection in microfluidic channels—the Holy Grail in muTAS?”, Anal Bioanal Chem. (2005) 382(8):1771-1782.
Dittrich et al., “Lab-on-a-chip: microfluidics in drug discovery”, Nat Rev Drug Discov. (2006) 5(3):210-208.
Dunnington et al., “Approaches to Miniaturized High-Throughput Screening of Chemical Libraries”, in Integrated Microfabricated Devices (2002) Ch. 15, pp. 371-414, CRC Press.
Eddings et al., “A PDMS-based gas permeation pump for on-chip fluid handling in microfluidic devices”, J Micromech Microengin. (2006) 16(11):2396-2402.
Edwards, “Silicon (Si),” in “Handbook of Optical Constants of Solids” (Ghosh & Palik eds., 1997) in 24 pages.
Edwards et al., “Micro Scale Purification Systems for Biological Sample Preparation”, Biomed Microdevices (2001) 3(3):211-218.
Edwards et al., “A microfabricated thermal field-flow fractionation system”, Anal Chem. (2002) 74(6):1211-1216.
Ehrlich et al., “Microfluidic devices for DNA analysis”, Trends Biotechnol. (1999) 17(8):315-319.
El-Ali et al., “Simulation and experimental validation of a SU-8 based PCR thermocycler chip with integrated heaters and temperature sensor”, Sens Actuators A: Physical (2004) 110(1-3):3-10.
EP Communication dated Aug. 9, 2006 for European Patent Application 02723636.3, filed Mar. 27, 2002.
Erickson et al., “Joule heating and heat transfer in poly(dimethylsiloxane) microfluidic systems”, Lab Chip (2003) 3(3):141-149.
Erickson et al., “Integrated Microfluidic Devices”, Analytica Chim Acta. (2004) 507:11-26.
Erill et al., “Development of a CMOS-compatible PCR chip: comparison of design and system strategies”, J Micromech Microengin. (2004) 14(11):1-11.
European Supplemental Search Report dated Aug. 5, 2010 for Application No. EP 08826342.1, filed Jul. 11, 2008.
Fair R.B., Digital microfluidics: is a true lab-on-a-chip possible? Microfluidics Nanofluid. (2007) 3:245-281.
Fan et al., “Integrated Plastic Microfluidic Devices for Bacterial Detection”, in Integrated Biochips for DNA Analysis by Liu et al. [Eds], (2007) Chapter 6, pp. 78-89.
Fiorini et al., “Disposable microfluidic devices: fabrication, function, and application”, Biotechniques (2005) 38(3):429-446.
Frazier et al., “Integrated micromachined components for biological analysis systems”, J Micromech. (2000) 1(1):67-83.
Gale et al., “Micromachined electrical field-flow fractionation (mu-EFFF) system”, IEEE Trans Biomed Eng. (1998) 45(12):1459-1469.
Gale et al., “Geometric scaling effects in electrical field flow fractionation. 1. Theoretical analysis”, Anal Chem. (2001) 73(10):2345-2352.
Gale et al., “BioMEMS Education at Louisiana Tech University”, Biomed Microdevices, (2002) 4:223-230.
Gale et al., “Geometric scaling effects in electrical field flow fractionation. 2. Experimental results”, Anal Chem. (2002) 74(5):1024-1030.
Gale et al., “Cyclical electrical field flow fractionation”, Electrophoresis (2005) 26(9):1623-1632.
Gale et al., “Low-Cost MEMS Technologies”, Elsevier B.V. (2008), Chapter 1.12; pp. 342-372.
Garst et al., “Fabrication of Multilayered Microfluidic 3D Polymer Packages”, IEEE Proceedings Electronic Components & Tech, Conference May/Jun. 2005, pp. 603-610.
Gärtner et al., “Methods and instruments for continuous-flow PCR on a chip”, Proc. SPIE 6465, Microfluidics, BioMEMS, and Medical Microsystems V, (2007) 646502; 8 pages.
Giordano et al., “Toward an Integrated Electrophoretic Microdevice for Clinical Diagnostics”, in Integrated Microfabricated Biodevices: Advanced Technologies for Genomics, Drug Discovery, Bioanalysis, and Clinical Diagnostics (2002) Chapter 1; pp. 1-34.
Goldmeyer et al., “Identification of Staphylococcus aureus and Determination of Methicillin Resistance Directly from Positive Blood Cultures by Isothermal Amplification and a Disposable Detection Device”, J Clin Microbiol. (Apr. 2008) 46(4): 1534-1536.
Graff et al., “Nanoparticle Separations Using Miniaturized Field-flow Fractionation Systems”, Proc. Nanotechnology Conference and Trade Show (NSTI) (2005); pp. 8-12.
Greer et al., “Comparison of glass etching to xurography prototyping of microfluidic channels for DNA melting analysis”, J Micromech Microengin. (2007) 17(12):2407-2413.
Grunenwald H., “Optimization of Polymerase Chain Reactions,” in Methods in Molecular Biology, PCR Protocols., Second Edition by Bartlett et al. [Eds.] Humana Press (2003) vol. 226, pp. 89-99.
Guijt et al., “Chemical and physical processes for integrated temperature control in microfluidic devices”, Lab Chip. (2003) 3(1):1-4.
Gulliksen A., “Microchips for Isothermal Amplification of RNA”, Doctoral Thesis (2007); Department of Mol. Biosciences-University of Oslo; 94 pages.
Guttenberg et al., “Planar chip device for PCR and hybridization with surface acoustic wave pump”, Lab Chip. (2005) 5(3):308-317.
Haeberle et al., “Microfluidic platforms for lab-on-a-chip applications”, Lab Chip. (2007) 7(9):1094-1110.
Hale et al., “Optical constants of Water in the 200-nm to 200-μm Wavelength Region”, Applied Optics, 12(3): 555-563 (1973).
Handal et al., “DNA mutation detection and analysis using miniaturized microfluidic systems”, Expert Rev Mol Diagn. (2006) 6(1):29-38.
Handique et al., “Microfluidic flow control using selective hydrophobic patterning”, SPIE, (1997) 3224: 185-194.
Handique et al., “On-Chip Thermopneumatic Pressure for Discrete Drop Pumping”, Anal. Chem., (2001) 73(8):1831-1838.
Handique et al., “Nanoliter-volume discrete drop injection and pumping in microfabricated chemical analysis systems”, Solid-State Sensor and Actuator Workshop (Hilton Head, South Carolina, Jun. 8-11, 1998) pp. 346-349.
Handique et al., “Mathematical Modeling of Drop Mixing in a Slit-Type Microchannel”, J. Micromech. Microeng., 11:548-554 (2001).
Handique et al., “Nanoliter Liquid Metering in Microchannels Using Hydrophobic Patterns”, Anal. Chem., 72(17):4100-4109 (2000).
Hansen et al., “Microfluidics in structural biology: smaller, faster . . . better”, Curr Opin Struct Biol. (2003) 13(5):538-544.
Harding et al., “DNA isolation using Methidium-Spermine-Sepharose”, Meth Enzymol. (1992) 216: 29-39.
Harding et al., “Rapid isolation of DNA from complex biological samples using a novel capture reagent—methidium-spermine-sepharose”, Nucl Acids Res. (1989) 17(17): 6947-6958.
He et al., Microfabricated Filters for Microfluidic Analytical Systems, Analytical Chemistry, American Chemical Society, 1999, vol. 71, No. 7, pp. 1464-1468.
Heid et al., “Genome Methods—Real Time Quantitative PCR”, Genome Res. (1996) 6(10):986-994.
Henry C.S. [Ed], “Microchip Capillary electrophoresis”, Methods in Molecular Biology, Humana Press 339 (2006) Parts I-IV in 250 pages.
Herr et al., “Investigation of a miniaturized capillary isoelectric focusing (cIEF) system using a full-field detection approach”, Solid State Sensor and Actuator Workshop, Hilton Head Island (2000), pp. 4-8.
Herr et al., “Miniaturized Isoelectric Focusing (μIEF) As a Component of a Multi-Dimensional Microfluidic System”, Micro Total Analysis Systems (2001) pp. 51-53.
Herr et al., Miniaturized Capillary Isoelectric Focusing (cIEF): Towards a Portable High-Speed Separation Method. In Micro Total Analysis Systems (2000) Springer, Dordrecht; pp. 367-370.
Holland et al., “Point-of-care molecular diagnostic systems—past, present and future”, Curr Opin Microbiol. (2005) 8(5):504-509.
Hong et al., “Integrated nanoliter systems”, Nat Biotechnol. (2003) 21(10):1179-1183.
Hong et al., “Molecular biology on a microfluidic chip”, J Phys.: Condens Matter (2006) 18(18):S691-S701.
Hong et al., “Integrated Nucleic Acid Analysis in Parallel Matrix Architecture”, in Integrated Biochips for DNA Analysis by Liu et al. [Eds], (2007) Chapter 8, pp. 107-116.
Horsman et al., “Forensic DNA Analysis on Microfluidic Devices: A Review”, J Forensic Sci. (2007) 52(4):784-799.
Hsieh et al., “Enhancement of thermal uniformity for a microthermal cycler and its application for polymerase chain reaction”, Sens Actuators B: Chemical. (2008) 130(2):848-856.
Huang et al., “Temperature Uniformity and DNA Amplification Efficiency in Micromachined Glass PCR Chip”, TechConnect Briefs; Tech Proc. Of the 2005 NSTI Nanotechnology Conference and Trade Show. (2005) vol. 1:452-455.
Huebner et al., “Microdroplets: A sea of applications?”, Lab Chip. (2008) 8(8):1244-1254.
Ibrahim, et al., Real-Time Microchip PCR for Detecting Single-Base Differences in Viral and Human DNA, Analytical Chemistry, American Chemical Society, 1998, 70(9): 2013-2017.
International Preliminary Report on Patentability and Written Opinion dated Jan. 19, 2010 for Application No. PCT/US2008/008640, filed Jul. 14, 2008.
International Preliminary Report on Patentability dated Jan. 19, 2010 for Application No. PCT/US2008/069897, filed Jul. 11, 2008.
International Search Report and Written Opinion dated Apr. 4, 2008 for PCT/US2007/007513, filed Mar. 26, 2007.
International Search Report and Written Opinion dated Jan. 5, 2009 for PCT/US2007/024022, filed Nov. 14, 2007.
International Search Report and Written Opinion, dated Oct. 3, 2008, issued in International Application No. PCT/US2008/069897, filed Jul. 11, 2008.
International Search Report dated Jun. 17, 2009 for Application No. PCT/US2008/008640, filed Jul. 14, 2008.
Iordanov et al., “PCR Array on Chip—Thermal Characterization”, IEEE Sensors (2003) Conference Oct. 22-24, 2003; pp. 1045-1048.
Irawan et al., “Cross-Talk Problem on a Fluorescence Multi-Channel Microfluidic Chip System,” Biomed Micro. (2005) 7(3):205-211.
Ji et al., “DNA Purification Silicon Chip”, Sensors and Actuators A: Physical (2007) 139(1-2):139-144.
Jia et al., “A low-cost, disposable card for rapid polymerase chain reaction”, Colloids Surfaces B: Biointerfaces (2007) 58:52-60.
Kaigala et al., “An inexpensive and portable microchip-based platform for integrated RT-PCR and capillary electrophoresis”, The Analyst (2008) 133(3):331-338.
Kajiyama et al., “Genotyping on a Thermal Gradient DNA Chip”, Genome Res. (2003) 13(3):467-475.
Kang et al., “Simulation and Optimization of a Flow-Through Micro PCR Chip”, NSTI-Nanotech (2006) vol. 2, pp. 585-588.
Kantak et al.,“Microfluidic platelet function analyzer for shear-induced platelet activation studies”, 2nd Annual International IEEE-EMBS Special Topic Conference on Microtechnologies in Med and Biol. (May 2002) 5 pages.
Kantak et al., “Microfabricated cyclical electrical field flow fractionation”, 7th International Conference on Miniaturized Chomical and Biochem Analysis Sys. (2003) pp. 1199-1202.
Kantak et al., “Platelet function analyzer: Shear activation of platelets in microchannels”, Biomedical Microdevices (2003) 5(3):207-215.
Kantak et al., “Characterization of a microscale cyclical electrical field flow fractionation system”, Lab Chip. (2006) 6(5):645-654.
Kantak et al., “Effect of carrier ionic strength in microscale cyclical electrical field-flow fractionation”, Anal Chem. (2006) 78(8):2557-2564.
Kantak et al., “Improved theory of cyclical electrical field flow fractions”, Electrophoresis (2006) 27(14):2833-2843.
Karunasiri et al.,“Extraction of thermal parameters of microbolometer infrared detectors using electrical measurement”, SPIE's Inter'l Symposium on Optical Science, Engineering, and Instrumentation; Proceedings (1998) vol. 3436, Infrared Technology and Applications XXIV; (1998) 8 pages.
Kelly et al., “Microfluidic Systems for Integrated, High-Throughput DNA Analysis,” Analytical Chemistry, (2005), 97A-102A, Mar. 1, 2005, in 7 pages.
Khandurina et al., Microfabricated Porous Membrane Structure for Sample Concentration and Electrophoretic Analysis, Analytical Chemistry American Chemical Society, 1999, 71(9): 1815-1819.
Khandurina et al., “Bioanalysis in microfluidic devices,” J Chromatography A, (2002) 943:159-183.
Kim et al., “Reduction of Microfluidic End Effects In Micro-Field Flow Fractionation Channels”, Proc. MicroTAS 2003, pp. 5-9.
Kim et al., “Multi-DNA extraction chip based on an aluminum oxide membrane integrated into a PDMS microfluidic structure”, 3rd IEEE/EMBS Special Topic Conference on Microtechnology in Med and Biol. (May 2005).
Kim et al., “Electrohydrodynamic Generation and Delivery of Monodisperse Picoliter Droplets Using a Poly(dimethylsiloxane) Microchip”, Anal Chem. (2006) 78: 8011-8019.
Kim et al., “Geometric optimization of a thin film ITO heater to generate a uniform temperature distribution”, (2006), Tokyo, Japan; pp. 293-295; Abstract.
Kim et al., “Micro-Raman thermometry for measuring the temperature distribution inside the microchannel of a polymerase chain reaction chip”, J Micromech Microeng. (2006) 16(3):526-530.
Kim et al., “Patterning of a Nanoporous Membrane for Multi-sample DNA Extraction”, J Micromech Microeng. (2006) 16:33-39.
Kim et al., “Performance evaluation of thermal cyclers for PCR in a rapid cycling condition”, Biotechniques. (2008) 44(4):495-505.
Kim et al., “Quantitative and qualitative analysis of a microfluidic DNA extraction system using a nanoporous AIO(x) membrane”, Lab Chip. (2008) 8(9):1516-1523.
Kogi et al., “Microinjection-microspectroscopy of single oil droplets in water: an application to liquid/liquid extraction under solution-flow conditions”, Anal Chim Acta. (2000) 418(2):129-135.
Kopf-Sill et al., “Creating a Lab-on-a-Chip with Microfluidic Technologies”, in Integrated Microfabricated Biodevices: Advanced Technologies for Genomics, Drug Discovery, Bioanalysis, and Clinical Diagnostics (2002) Chapter 2; pp. 35-54.
Kopp et al., Chemical Amplification: Continuous-Flow PCR on a Chip, www.sciencemag.org, 1998, vol. 280, pp. 1046-1048.
Kricka L.J., “Microchips, Bioelectronic Chips, and Gene Chips—Microanalyzers for the Next Century”, in Biochip Technology by Cheng et al. [Eds]; (2006) Chapter 1, pp. 1-16.
Krishnan et al., “Polymerase chain reaction in high surface-to-volume ratio SiO2 microstructures”, Anal Chem. (2004) 76(22):6588-6593.
Kuo et al., “Remnant cationic dendrimers block RNA migration in electrophoresis after monophasic lysis”, J Biotech. (2007) 129: 383-390.
Kuswandi et al., “Optical sensing systems for microfluidic devices: a review”, Anal Chim Acta. (2007) 601(2):141-155.
Kutter et al., Solid Phase Extraction on Microfluidic Devices, J. Microcolumn Separations, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2000, 12(2): 93-97.
LABCHEM; Sodium Hydroxide, 0,5N (0.5M); Safety Data Sheet, 2015; 8 pages.
Lagally et al., Single-Molecule DNA Amplification and Analysis in an Integrated Microfluidic Device, Analytical Chemistry, American Chemical Society, 2001, 73(3): 565-570.
Lagally et al., “Genetic Analysis Using Portable PCR-CE Microsystem”, Proceedings 7th International Conference on Miniaturized Chemical and Biochemical Analysis Systems (2003) pp. 1283-1286.
Lagally et al., “Integrated portable genetic analysis microsystem for pathogen/infectious disease detection”, Anal Chem. (2004) 76(11):3152-3170.
Lauerman L.H., “Advances in PCR technology”, Anim Health Res Rev. (2004) 5(2):247-248.
Lawyer et al., “High-level Expression, Purification, and Enzymatic Characterization of Full-length Thermus aquaticus DNA Polymerase and a Truncated Form Deficient in 5′to 3′Exonuclease Activity.” Genome research (1993) 2(4):275-287.
Lee et al., “Submicroliter-volume PCR chip with fast thermal response and very power consumption”, 7th International Conference on Miniaturized Chemical and Biochemical Analysis Systems, (2003) pp. 187-190.
Lee et al., “Bulk-micromachined submicroliter-volume PCR chip with very rapid thermal response and low power consumption”, Lab Chip. (2004) 4(4):401-407.
Lewin et al., “Use of Real-Time PCR and Molecular Beacons to Detect Virus Replication in Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1-infected Individuals on Prolonged Effective Antiretroviral Therapy”. J Virol. (1999) 73(7), 6099-6103.
Li et al., “Effect of high-aspect-ratio microstructures on cell growth and attachment”, 1st Annual Inter'l IEEE-EMBS Special Topic Conference on Microtechnologies in Med and Biol. Proceedings Cat. No.00EX451; (Oct. 2000) Poster 66, pp. 531-536.
Li PCH., “Micromachining Methods et al.” in Microfluidic Lab-on-a-Chip for Chemical and Biological Analysis and Discovery, CRC Press (2005), Chapter 2-3 to 2-5; pp. 10-49.
Li PCH., “Microfluidic Flow” in Microfluidic Lab-on-a-Chip for Chemical and Biological Analysis and Discovery, CRC Press (2005), Chapter 3, pp. 55-99.
Li PCH., “Detection Methods” in Microfluidic Lab-on-a-Chip for Chemical and Biological Analysis and Discovery, CRC Press (2005), Chapter 7, pp. 187-249.
Li PCH., “Applications to Nucleic Acids Analysis” in Microfluidic Lab-on-a-Chip for Chemical and Biological Analysis and Discovery, CRC Press (2005), Chapter 9; pp. 293-325.
Li et al., “A Continuous-Flow Polymerase Chain Reaction Microchip With Regional Velocity Control”, J Microelectromech Syst. (2006) 15(1):223-236.
Liao et al., “Miniature RT-PCR system for diagnosis of RNA-based viruses,” Nucl Acids Res. (2005) 33(18):e156 in 7 pages.
Lien et al., “Integrated reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction systems for virus detection”, Biosens Bioelectron. (2007) 22(8):1739-1748.
Lien et al., “Microfluidic Systems Integrated with a Sample Pretreatment Device for Fast Nucleic-Acid Amplification”, J Microelectro Sys. (2008) 17(2):288-301.
Lifesciences et al., “Microfluidics in commercial applications; an industry perspective.” Lab Chip (2006) 6:1118-1121.
Lin et al., “Thermal Uniformity of 12-in Silicon Wafer During Rapid Thermal Processing by Inverse Heat Transfer Method,” IEEE Transactions on Semiconductor Manufacturing, (2000) 13(4):448-456.
Lin et al., “Simulation and experimental validation of micro polymerase chain reaction chips”, Sens Actuators B: Chemical. (2000) 71(1-2):127-133.
Linder et al., “Microfluidics at the Crossroad with Point-of-care Diagnostics”, Analyst (2007) 132:1186-1192.
Liu et al., “Integrated portable polymerase chain reaction-capillary electrophoresis microsystem for rapid forensic short tandem repeat typing”, Anal Chem. (2007) 79(5):1881-1889.
Liu et al. [Eds], Integrated Biochips for DNA Analysis—Biotechnology Intelligence Unit; Springer/Landes Bioscience (2007) ISBN:978-0-387-76758-1; 216 pages.
Livache et al., “Polypyrrole DNA chip on a Silicon Device: Example of Hepatitis C Virus Genotyping”, Analytical Biochemistry, (1998) 255: 188-194.
Locascio et al., “ANYL 67 Award Address—Microfluidics as a tool to enable research and discovery in the life sciences”, Abstract; The 236th ACS National Meeting (Aug. 2008); 2 pages.
Mahjoob et al., “Rapid microfluidic thermal cycler for polymerase chain reaction nucleic acid amplification”, Inter'l J Heat Mass Transfer. (2008) 51(9-10):2109-2122.
Malitson, “Interspecimen Comparison of the Refractive Index of Fused Silica,” J Optical Society of America, 55:1205-1209 (1965).
Manz et al., “Miniaturized Total Chemical Analysis Systems: a Novel Concept for Chemical Sensing,” Sensors and Actuators B1, (1990) 244-248.
Marcus et al., “Parallel picoliter rt-PCR assays using microfluidics”, Anal Chem. (2006) 78(3):956-958.
Mariella R.P. Jr., “Microtechnology”, Thrust Area Report FY 96 UCRL-ID-125472; Lawrence Livermore National Lab., CA (Feb. 1997) Chapter 3 in 44 pages.
Mariella R., “Sample preparation: the weak link in microfluidics-based biodetection”, Biomed Microdevices. (2008) 10(6):777-784.
Mastrangelo et al., Microfabricated Devices for Genetic Diagnostics. Proceedings of the IEEE (1998) 86(8):1769-1787.
Mascini et al., “DNA electrochemical biosensors”, Fresenius J. Anal. Chem., 369: 15-22, (2001).
McMillan et al., “Application of advanced microfluidics and rapid PCR to analysis of microbial targets”, In Proceedings of the 8th international symposium on microbial ecology (1999), in 13 pages.
Melin et al., “Microfluidic large-scale integration: the evolution of design rules for biological automation”, Annu Rev Biophys Biomol Struct. (2007) 36:213-231.
Merugu et al., “High Throughput Separations Using a Microfabricated Serial Electric Split Ssystem” (2003), Proceedings of μTAS 2003, 7th International Conference on Miniaturized Chemical and Biochemical Analysis Systems, Oct. 5-9, 2003, Squaw Valley, California; 1191-1194, in 3 pages.
Meyers, R.A., Molecular Biology and Biotechnology: A Comprehensive Desk Reference; VCH Publishers, Inc. New York, NY; (1995) pp. 418-419.
Miao et al., “Low cost micro-PCR array and micro-fluidic integration on single silicon chip”, Int'l J Comput Eng Science (2003) 4(2):231-234.
Miao et al., “Flip-Chip packaged micro-plate for low cost thermal multiplexing”, Int'l J Comput Eng Science. (2003) 4(2):235-238.
Micheletti et al., “Microscale Bioprocess Optimisation”, Curr Opin Biotech. (2006) 17:611-618.
MicroTAS 2005., “Micro Total Analysis Systems”, Proceedings 9th Int. Conference on Miniaturized Systems for Chemistry and Life Sciences; Presentations/Posters/Articles for Conference; Boston, MA in Oct. 10-12, 2005 in 1667 pages.
MicroTAS 2007., “Micro Total Analysis Systems”, Proceedings 11th Int. Conference on Miniaturized Systems for Chemistry and Life Sciences; Presentations/Posters/Articles for Conference; Paris, France in Oct. 7-11, 2007 in 1948 pages.
MicroTAS 2007., “Micro Total Analysis Systems”, Advance Program for the Proceedings 11th Int. Conference on Miniaturized Systems for Chemistry and Life Sciences; Presentations/Posters/Articles for Conference; Paris, France in Oct. 7-11, 2007 in 42 pages.
Minco, “Conductive Heating Technologies for Medical Diagnostic Equipment,” (2006) in 13 pages.
Mitchell et al., “Modeling and validation of a molded polycarbonate continuous-flow polymerase chain reaction device,” Microfluidics, BioMEMS, and Medical Microsystems, Proc. SPIE (2003) 4982:83-98.
Myers et al., “Innovations in optical microfluidic technologies for point-of-care diagnostics”, Lab Chip (2008) 8:2015-2031.
Nakagawa et al., Fabrication of amino silane-coated microchip for DNA extraction from whole blood, J of Biotechnology, Mar. 2, 2005, 116:105-111.
Namasivayam et al., “Advances in on-chip photodetection for applications in miniaturized genetic analysis systems”, J Micromech Microeng. (2004) 14:81-90.
Narayanan et al., “A microfabricated electrical SPLITT system,” Lab Chip, (2006) 6:105-114.
Neuzil et al., “Disposable real-time microPCR device: lab-on-a-chip at a low cost,” Mol. Biosyst., (2006) 2:292-298.
Neuzil et al., “Ultra fast miniaturized real-time PCR: 40 cycles in less than six minutes,” Nucleic Acids Research, (2006) 34(11)e77, in 9 pages.
Nguyen et al. [Eds], “Microfluidics for Internal Flow Control: Microfluidics” in Fundamentals and Applications of Microfluidics; 2nd Edition (2006) Introduction Chapter 1, pp. 1-9.
Nguyen et al. [Eds], “Microfluidics for Internal Flow Control: Microvalves” in Fundamentals and Applications of Microfluidics; (2006) 2nd Edition, Chapter 6, pp. 211-254.
Nguyen et al. [Eds], “Microfluidics for Internal Flow Control: Micropumps” in Fundamentals and Applications of Microfluidics; (2006) 2nd Edition, Chapter 7, pp. 255-309.
Nguyen et al. [Eds], “Microfluidics for Life Sciences and Chemistry: Microdispensers” in Fundamentals and Applications of Microfluidics; (2006), Chapter 11, pp. 395-418.
Nguyen et al. [Eds], “Microfluidics for Life Sciences and Chemistry: Microreactors” in Fundamentals and Applications of Microfluidics; (2006) 2nd Edition, Chapter 13, pp. 443-477.
Ning et al., “Microfabrication Processes for Silicon and Glass Chips”, in Biochip Technology, CRC-Press (2006) Chapter 2, pp. 17-38.
Northrup et al., “A MEMs-based Miniature DNA Analysis System,” Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, (1995), submitted to Transducers '95, Stockholm, Sweden, Jun. 25-29, 1995, in 7 pages.
Northrup et al., “Advantages Afforded by Miniaturization and Integration of DNA Analysis Instrumentation,” Microreaction Technology, (1998) 278-288.
Northrup et al., A Miniature Analytical Instrument for Nucleic Acids Based on Micromachined Silicon Reaction Chambers, Analytical Chemistry, American Chemical Society, 1998, 70(5): 918-922.
Northrup et al., “A New Generation of PCR Instruments and Nucleic Acid Concentration Systems,” in PCR Applications: Protocols for Functional Genomics, (1999), Chapter 8, pp. 105-125.
Northrup, “Microfluidics, A few good tricks,” Nature materials (2004), 3:282-283.
Northrup et al.,“Microfluidics-based integrated airborne pathogen detection systems,” Abstract, Proceedings of the SPIE, (2006), vol. 6398, Abstract in 2 pages.
Oh et al., “World-to-chip microfluidic interface with built-in valves for multichamber chip-based PCR assays,” Lab Chip, (2005), 5:845-850.
Oh K.W. et al., “A Review of Microvalves”, J Micromech Microeng. (2006) 16:R13-R39.
Ohno et al., “Microfluidics: Applications for analytical purposes in chemistry and biochemistry,” Electrophoresis (2008), 29:4443-4453.
Oleschuk et al., Trapping of Bead-Based Reagents within Microfluidic Systems: On-Chip Solid-Phase Extraction and Electrochromatography, Analytical Chemistry, American Chemical Society, 2000, 72(3): 585-590.
Pal et al., “Phase Change Microvalve for Integrated Devices”, Anal Chem. (2004) 76: 3740-3748.
Pal et al., “Phase Change Microvalve for Integrated Devices,” Anal. Chem. (2004), 76(13):3740-3748, Jul. 1, 2004, in 9 pages.
Pal et al., “An integrated microfluidic for influenza and other genetic analyses,” Lab Chip, (2005), 5:1024-1032.
Palina et al., “Laser Assisted Boron Doping of Silicon Wafer Solar Cells Using Nanosecond and Picosecond Laser Pulses,” 2011 37th IEEE Photovoltaic Specialists Conference, pp. 002193-002197, IEEE (2011).
Pamme, “Continuous flow separations in microfluidic devices,” Lab Chip, (2007), 7:1644-1659.
Pang et al., “A novel single-chip fabrication technique for three-dimensional MEMS structures,” Institute of Microelectronics, Tsinghua University, Beijing, P.R. China, (1998), IEEE, 936-938.
Pang et al., “The Study of Single-Chip Integrated Microfluidic System,” Tsinghua University, Beijing, P.R. China, (1998), IEEE, 895-898.
Papautsky et al., “Effects of rectangular microchannel aspect ratio on laminar friction constant”, in Microfluidic Devices and Systems II (1999) 3877:147-158.
Paulson et al., “Optical dispersion control in surfactant-free DNA thin films by vitamin B2 doping,” Nature, Scientific Reports 8:9358 (2018) published at www.nature.com/scientificreports, Jun. 19, 2018.
Petersen, Kurt E., “Silicon as a Mechanical Material.” Proceedings of the IEEE, (May 1982) 70(5):420-457.
Petersen et al., “Toward Next Generation Clinical Diagnostic Instruments: Scaling and New Processing Paradigms,” Biomedical Microdevices (1998) 1(1):71-79.
Picard et al., Laboratory Detection of Group B Streptococcus for Prevention of Perinatal Disease, Eur. J. Clin. Microbiol. Infect. Dis., Jul. 16, 2004, 23: 665-671.
Plambeck et al., “Electrochemical Studies of Antitumor Antibiotics”, J. Electrochem Soc.: Electrochemical Science and Technology (1984), 131(11): 2556-2563.
Poser et al., “Chip elements for fast thermocycling,” Sensors and Actuators A, (1997), 62:672-675.
Pourahmadi et al., “Toward a Rapid, Integrated, and Fully Automated DNA Diagnostic Assay for Chlamydia trachomatis and Neisseria gonorrhea,” Clinical Chemistry, (2000), 46(9):1511-1513.
Pourahmadi et al., “Versatile, Adaptable and Programmable Microfluidic Platforms for DNA Diagnostics and Drug Discovery Assays,” Micro Total Analysis Systems, (2000), 243-248.
Raisi et al., “Microchip isoelectric focusing using a miniature scanning detection system,” Electrophoresis, (2001), 22:2291-2295.
Raja et al., “Technology for Automated, Rapid, and Quantitative PCR or Reverse Transcriptin-PCR Clinical Testing,” Clinical Chemistry, (2005), 51(5):882-890.
Reyes et al., “Micro Total Analysis Systems. 1. Introduction, Theory, and Technology”, Anal Chem (2002) 74:2623-2636.
Roche et al. “Ectodermal commitment of insulin-producing cells derived from mouse embryonic stem cells” Faseb J (2005) 19: 1341-1343.
Rodriguez et al., “Practical integration of polymerase chain reaction amplification and electrophoretic analysis in microfluidic devices for genetic analysis,” Electrophoresis, (2003), 24:172-178.
Rohsenow et al. [Eds.], Handbook of Heat Transfer, 3rd Edition McGraw-Hill Publishers (1998) Chapters 1 & 3; pp. 108.
Roper et al., “Advances in Polymer Chain Reaction on Microfluidic Chips,” Anal. Chem., (2005), 77:3887-3894.
Ross et al., Analysis of DNA Fragments from Conventional and Microfabricated PCR Devices Using Delayed Extraction MALDI-TOF Mass Spectrometry, Analytical Chemistry, American Chemical Society, 1998, 70(10): 2067-2073.
Ross et al., “Scanning Temperature Gradient Focusing for Simultaneous Concentration and Separation of Complex Samples,” Micro Total Analysis Systems 2005, vol. 2, (2005), Proceedings of μTAS 2005, Ninth International Conference on Miniaturized Systems for Chemistry and Life Sciences, Oct. 9-13, 2005, Boston, Massachusetts; 1022-1024.
Ross et al., “Simple Device for Multiplexed Electrophoretic Separations Using Gradient Elution Moving Boundary Electrophoresis with Channel Current Detection,” Anal. Chem., (2008), 80(24):9467-9474.
Sadler et al., “Thermal Management of BioMEMS: Temperature Control for Ceramic-Based PCR and DNA Detection Devices,” IEEE Transactions on Components and Packaging Technologies, (2003) 26(2):309-316.
Sanchez et al., “Linear-After-The-Exponential (LATE)-PCR: An advanced method of asymmetric PCR and its uses in quantitative real-time analysis”, PNAS (2004) 101(7): 1933-1938.
Sant et al., “An Integrated Optical Detector for Microfabricated Electrical Field Flow Fractionation System,” Proceedings of μTAS 2003, 7th International Conference on Miniaturized Chemical and Biochemical Analysis Systems, Oct. 5-9, 2003, Squaw Valley, California; pp. 1259-1262.
Sant et al., “Geometric scaling effects on instrumental plate height in field flow fractionation”, J Chromatography A (2006) 1104:282-290.
Sant H.J., “Reduction of End Effect-Induced Zone Broadening in Field-Flow Fractionation Channels”, Anl Chem. (2006) 78:7978-7985.
Sant et al., “Microscale Field-Flow Fractionation: Theory and Practice”, in Microfluidic Technologies for Miniaturized Analysis Systems. (2007) Chapter 12, pp. 4710521.
Schäferling et al., “Optical technologies for the read out and quality control of DNA and protein microarrays,” Anal Bioanal Chem, (2006), 385: 500-517.
Serpengüzel et al., “Microdroplet identification and size measurement in sprays with lasing images”, Optics express (2002) 10(20):1118-1132.
Shackman et al., “Gradient Elution Moving Boundary Electrophoresis for High-Throughput Multiplexed Microfluidic Devices,” Anal. Chem. (2007), 79(2), 565-571.
Shackman et al., “Temperature gradient focusing for microchannel separations,” Anal Bioanal Chem, (2007), 387:155-158.
Shadpour et al., “Multichannel Microchip Electrophoresis Device Fabricated in Polycarbonate with an Integrated Contact Conductivity Sensor Array,” Anal Chem., (2007), 79(3), 870-878.
Shen et al., “A microchip-based PCR device using flexible printed circuit technology,” Sensors and Actuators B (2005), 105:251-258.
Shoffner et al., Chip PCR.I. Surface Passivation of Microfabricated Silicon-Glass Chips for PCR, Nucleic Acids Research, Oxford University Press, (1996) 24(2): 375-379.
Sia et al., “Microfluidic devices fabricated in poly(dimethylsiloxane) for biological studies,” Electrophoresis, (2003), 24:3563-3576.
Sigurdson M., “AC Electrokinetic Enhancement for Assay Enhancement”, ProQuest LLC (2008) Doctoral Thesis UMI Microform 3319791 in 24 pages.
Singh et al., “PCR thermal management in an integrated Lab on Chip,” Journal of Physics: Conference Series, (2006), 34:222-227.
Situma et al., “Merging microfluidics with microarray-based bioassays”, Biomol Engin. (2006) 23:213-231.
Smith, K. et al., “Comparison of Commercial DNA Extraction Kits for Extraction of Bacterial Genomic DNA from Whole-Blood Samples”, Journal of Clinical Microbiology, vol. 41, No. 6 (Jun. 2003), pp. 2440-2443.
Smith et al., “(576d) Micropatterned fluid lipid bilayers created using a continuous flow microspotter for multi-analyte assays,” (2007), Biosensors II, 2007 AlChE Annual Meeting, Nov. 8, 2007, Abstract in 2 pages.
Sommer et al., “Introduction to Microfluidics”, in Microfluidics for Biological Applications by Tian et al. [Eds] (2008) Chapter 1, pp. 1-34.
Spitzack et al., “Polymerase Chain Reaction in Miniaturized Systems: Big Progress in Little Devices”, in Methods in Molecular Biology—Microfluidic Techniques, Minteer S.D. [Ed.] Humana Press (2006), Chapter 10, pp. 97-129.
Squires et al., “Microfluidics: Fluid physics at the nanoliter scale”, Rev Modern Phys. (2005) 77(3):977-1026.
Sundberg et al., “Solution-phase DNA mutation scanning and SNP genotyping by nanoliter melting analysis,” Biomed Microdevices, (2007), 9:159-166, in 8 pages.
Supplemental European Search Report dated Jun. 4, 2010 for Application No. 02761632.5, filed Sep. 12, 2002.
Supplementary European Search dated Jan. 10, 2008 for European Patent Application No. 05745564, filed May 3, 2005.
Supplementary European Search Report dated Jun. 3, 2005 for European Patent Application No. 02723636.3, filed Mar. 27, 2002.
Supplementary European Search Report dated May 3, 2010 for European Patent Application No. 02715213.1, filed Mar. 27, 2002.
Tabeling, P. [Ed.], “Physics at the micrometric scale,” in Introduction to Microfluidics (2005) Chapter 1, pp. 24-69.
Tabeling, P. [Ed.], “Hydrodynamics of Microfluidic Systems”, in Introduction to Microfluidics; (2005) Chapter 2, pp. 70-129.
Tabeling, P. [Ed.], Introduction to Microfluidics; (2005) Chapters 5-7, pp. 216-297.
Tanaka et al., “Improved Method of DNA Extraction from Seeds Using Amine-Dendrimer Modified Magnetic Particles”, Proceedings of the 74th Annual Meeting of the Electrochemical Society of Japan; Abstract #2E09 on p. 149, Mar. 29, 2007; Faculty of Engineering, Science University of Tokyo; 4 pages.
Taylor et al., Fully Automated Sample Preparation for Pathogen Detection Performed in a Microfluidic Cassette, in Micro Total Analysis Systems, Springer (2001), pp. 670-672.
Taylor et al., “Lysing Bacterial Spores by Sonication through a Flexible Interface in a Microfluidic System,” Anal. Chem., (2001), 73(3):492-496.
Taylor et al., “Microfluidic Bioanalysis Cartridge with Interchangeable Microchannel Separation Components,” (2001), The 11th International Conference on Solid-State Sensors and Actuators, Jun. 10-14, 2001, Munich, Germany; 1214-1247.
Taylor et al., “Disrupting Bacterial Spores and Cells using Ultrasound Applied through a Solid Interface,” (2002), 2nd Annual International IEEE-EMBS Special Topic Conference on Microtechnologies in Medicine & Biology, May 2-4, 2002, Madison, Wisconsin: 551-555.
Thorsen et al., “Microfluidic Large-scale integration,” Science, (2002), 298:580-584.
Toriello et al., “Multichannel Reverse Transcription-Polymerase Chain Reaction Microdevice for Rapid Gene Expression and Biomarker Analysis,” Anal. Chem., (2006) 78(23):7997-8003.
Ugaz et al., “Microfabricated electrophoresis systems for DNA sequencing and genotyping applications,” Phil. Trans. R. Soc. Lond. A, (2004), 362:1105-1129.
Ugaz et al., “PCR in Integrated Microfluidic Systems”, in Integrated Biochips for DNA Analysis by Liu et al. [Eds]; (2007) Chapter 7, pp. 90-106.
Ullman et al., “Luminescent oxygen channeling assay (LOCI™): sensitive, broadly applicable homogeneous immunoassay method”. Clin Chem. (1996) 42(9), 1518-1526.
Velten et al., “Packaging of Bio-MEMS: Strategies, Technologies, and Applications,” IEEE Transactions on Advanced Packaging, (2005) 28(4):533-546.
Vinet et al., “Microarrays and microfluidic devices: miniaturized systems for biological analysis,” Microelectronic Engineering, (2002), 61-62:41-47.
Wang, “Survey and Summary, from DNA Biosensors to Gene Chips”, Nucleic Acids Research, 28(16):3011-3016, (2000).
Wang et al., “From biochips to laboratory-on-a-chip system”, in Genomic Signal Processing and Statistics by Dougherty et al. [Eds]; (2005) Chapter 5, pp. 163-200.
Wang et al., “A disposable microfluidic cassette for DNA amplification and detection”, Lab on a Chip (2006) 6(1):46-53.
Wang et al., “Micromachined Flow-through Polymerase Chain Reaction Chip Utilizing Multiple Membrane-activated Micropumps,” (2006), MEMS 2006, Jan. 22-26, 2006, Istanbul, Turkey; 374-377.
Waters et al., Microchip Device for Cell Lysis, Multiplex PCR Amplification, and Electrophoretic Sizing, Analytical Chemistry, American Chemical Society, 1998, 70(1): 158-162.
Weigl, et al., Microfluidic Diffusion-Based Separation and Detection, www.sciencemag.org, 1999, vol. 283, pp. 346-347.
Woolley A.T., “Integrating Sample Processing and Detection with Microchip Capillary Electrophoresis of DNA”, in Integrated Biochips for DNA Analysis by Liu et al. [Eds]; (2007) Chapter 5, pp. 68-77.
Wu et al., “Polycationic dendrimers interact with RNA molecules: polyamine dendrimers inhibit the catalytic activity of Candida ribozymes”, Chem Commun. (2005) 3: 313-315.
Xiang et al., “Real Time PCR on Disposable PDMS Chip with a Miniaturized Thermal Cycler,” Biomedical Microdevices, (2005), 7(4):273-279.
Xuan, “Joule heating in electrokinetic flow,” Electrophoresis, (2008), 298:33-43.
Yang et al., “High sensitivity PCR assay in plastic micro reactors,” Lab Chip, (2002), 2:179-187.
Yang et al., “An independent, temperature controllable-microelectrode array,” Anal. Chem., (2004), 76(5):1537-1543.
Yang et al., “Cost-effective thermal isolation techniques for use on microfabricated DNA amplification and analysis devices,” J Micromech Microeng, (2005), 15:221-230.
Yobas et al., Microfluidic Chips for Viral RNA Extraction & Detection, (2005), 2005 IEEE, 49-52.
Yobas et al., “Nucleic Acid Extraction, Amplification, and Detection on Si-Based Microfluidic Platforms,” IEEE Journal of Solid-State Circuits, (2007), 42(8):1803-1813.
Yoon et al., “Precise temperature control and rapid thermal cycling in a micromachined DNA polymer chain reaction chip,” J. Micromech. Microeng., (2002), 12:813-823.
Yoza et al., “Fully Automated DNA Extraction from Blood Using Magnetic Particles Modified with a Hyperbranched Polyamidoamine Dendrimer”, J Biosci Bioeng, 2003, 95(1): 21-26.
Yoza et al., DNA extraction using bacterial magnetic particles modified with hyperbranched polyamidoamine dendrimer, J Biotechnol., Mar. 20, 2003, 101(3): 219-228.
Zhang et al., “Temperature analysis of continuous-flow micro-PCR based on FEA,” Sensors and Actuators B, (2002), 82:75-81.
Zhang et al., “PCR Microfluidic Devices for DNA Amplification,” Biotechnology Advances, 24:243-284 (2006).
Zhang et al, “Continuous-Flow PCR Microfluidics for Rapid DNA Amplification Using Thin Film Heater with Low Thermal Mass,” Analytical Letters, (2007), 40:1672-1685, in 15 pages.
Zhang et al, “Direct Adsorption and Detection of Proteins, Including Ferritin, onto Microlens Array Patterned Bioarrays,” J Am Chem Soc., (2007), 129:9252-9253.
Zhang et al, “Micropumps, microvalves, and micromixers within PCR microfluidic chips: Advances and trens,” Biotechnology Advances, (2007), 25:483-514.
Zhang et al., “Miniaturized PCR chips for nucleic acid amplification and analysis: latest advances and future trends,” Nucl Acids Res., (2007) 35(13):4223-4237.
Zhao et al, “Heat properties of an integrated micro PCR vessel,” Proceedings of SPIE, (2001), International Conference on Sensor Technology, 4414:31-34.
Zhou et al., “Cooperative binding and self-assembling behavior of cationic low molecular-weight dendrons with RNA molecules”, Org Biomol Chem. (2006) 4(3): 581-585.
Zhou et al., “PAMAM dendrimers for efficient siRNA delivery and potent gene silencing”, Chem Comm. (Camb.) (2006) 22: 2362-2364.
Zou et al., “A Micromachined Integratable Thermal Reactor,” technical digest from International Electron Devices Meeting, IEEE, Washington, D.C., Dec. 2-5, 2001 (6 pages).
Zou et al., “Micro-assembled multi-chamber thermal cycler for low-cost reaction chip thermal multiplexing,” Sensors and Actuators A, (2002), 102:114-121.
Zou et al., “Miniaturized Independently Controllable Multichamber Thermal Cycler,” IEEE Sensors Journal, (2003), 3(6):774-780.
Petition for Inter Partes Review of U.S. Pat. No. 7,998,708 (Paper 1 in IPR2019-00488) dated Dec. 20, 2018 (94 pages).
Declaration of Bruce K. Gale, Ph.D. (Exhibit 1001 in IPR2019-00488 and IPR2019-00490) dated Dec. 20, 2018 (235 pages).
Patent Owner Preliminary Response to Petition for Inter Partes Review of U.S. Pat. No. 7,998,708 and Exhibit List (Papers 5 and 6 in IPR2019-00488) dated Apr. 18, 2019 (79 pages).
Decision instituting Inter Partes Review of U.S. Pat. No. 7,998,708 (Paper 8 in IPR2019-00488) dated Jul. 16, 2019 (20 pages).
Petition for Inter Partes Review of U.S. Pat. No. 8,323,900 (Paper 1 in IPR2019-00490) dated Dec. 20, 2018 (85 pages).
Declaration of Michael G. Mauk, Ph.D. in Support of Patent Owner Preliminary Responses in IPR2019-00488 and IPR2019-00490 dated Apr. 18, 2019 (43 pages).
Patent Owner Preliminary Response to Petition for Inter Partes Review of U.S. Pat. No. 8,323,900 and Exhibit List (Papers 5 and 6 in IPR2019-00490) dated Apr. 18, 2019 (73 pages).
Decision instituting Inter Partes Review of U.S. Pat. No. 8,323,900 (Paper 8 in IPR2019-00490) dated Jul. 16, 2019 (23 pages).
Patent Owner's Response in Inter Partes Review of U.S. Pat. No. 8,323,900 and Exhibit List (Paper 25 in IPR2019-00490) dated Oct. 16, 2019 (80 pages).
Patent Owner's Response in Inter Partes Review of U.S. Pat. No. 7,998,708 and Exhibit List (Paper 25 in IPR 2019-00488) dated Oct. 16, 2019 (93 pages).
Transcript of Deposition of Bruce K. Gale, Ph.D., in Support of Patent Owner's Responses (Exhibit 2012 in IPR2019-00488 and IPR2019-00490), taken Sep. 24, 2019 (124 pages).
Declaration of M. Allen Northrup, Ph.D. in Support of Patent Owner's Responses (Exhibit 2036 in IPR2019-00488 and IPR2019-00490) dated Oct. 16, 2019 (365 pages).
Petitioner's Reply to Patent Owner's Response to Petition in Inter Partes Review of U.S. Pat. No. 7,998,708 and Exhibit List (Paper 32 in IPR 2019-00488) dated Jan. 31, 2020 (34 pages).
Petitioner's Reply to Patent Owner's Response to Petition in Inter Partes Review of U.S. Pat. No. 8,323,900 and Exhibit List (Paper 32 in IPR 2019-00490) dated Jan. 31, 2020 (35 pages).
Second Declaration of Bruce K. Gale, Ph.D. (Exhibit 1026 in IPR2019-00488 and IPR2019-00490) dated Jan. 31, 2020 (91 pages).
Transcript of Deposition of M. Allen Northrup, Ph.D., (Exhibit 1027 in IPR2019-00488 and IPR2019-00490), taken Dec. 19, 2019 (109 pages).
Patent Owner's Sur-Reply in Inter Partes Review of U.S. Pat. No. 8,323,900 (Paper 42 in IPR2019-00490) dated Mar. 12, 2020 (39 pages).
Patent Owner's Sur-Reply in Inter Partes Review of U.S. Pat. No. 7,998,708 (Paper 43 in IPR 2019-00488) dated Mar. 12, 2020 (41 pages).
Transcript of Second Deposition of Bruce K. Gale, Ph.D., (Exhibit 2068 in IPR2019-00488 and IPR2019-00490), taken Feb. 19, 2020 (352 pages).
Complaint filed by Becton, Dickinson et al., v. NeuModx Molecular, Inc. on Jun. 18, 2019 in U.S. District Court, Delaware, Case #1:19-cv-01126-LPS, Infringement Action involving U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,998,708; 8,273,308; 8,323,900; 8,415,103; 8,703,069; and 8,709,787 (29 pages).
Answer to Complaint filed by NeuModx Molecular, Inc. on Aug. 9, 2019 in U.S. District Court, Delaware, Case #1:19-cv-01126-LPS (24 pages).
Amended Answer to Complaint filed by NeuModx Molecular, Inc. on Oct. 4, 2019 in U.S. District Court, Delaware, Case #1:19-cv-01126-LPS (31 pages).
Anderson et al., “Microfluidic biochemical analysis system” Proc. 1997 IEEE Int. Conf. Solid-State Sens. Actuat., 1997, pp. 477-480.
Anderson et al., “Advances in Integrated Genetic Analysis” Micro Total Analysis Systems '98 Conference Proceedings, D. Kluwer Academic Publishers, 1998, in 6 pages.
Anderson et al., “A Miniature Integrated Device for Automated Multistep Genetic Assays” Nucleic Acids Research (2000) 28(12), i-vi.
Burns et al., “Microfabricated Structures for Integrated DNA Analysis” Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA (May 1996) 93: 5556-5561.
Harrison et al., “Capillary Electrophoresis and Sample Injection Systems Integrated on a Planar Glass Chip”, Anal. Chem. (1992) 64: 1926-1932.
Hsueh et al., “A microfabricated, electrochemiluminescence cell for the detection of amplified DNA” Proc. 1995 IEEE Int. Conf. Solid-State Sens. Actuators, 1995, pp. 768-771.
Hsueh et al., “DNA quantification with an electrochemiluminescence microcell” Proc. 1997 IEEE Int. Conf. Solid-State Sens. Actuators, 1997, pp. 175-178.
Jiang et al., “Directing cell migration with asymmetric micropatterns” Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA. (2005) 102, 975-978.
Lagally et al., “Monolithic integrated microfluidic DNA amplification and capillary electrophoresis analysis system” Sens Actuator B—Chem (2000) 63:138-146.
Manz et al., “Design of an open-tubular column liquid chromatograph using silicon chip technology” Sensors and Actuators B: Chemical (1990) 1:249-255.
Manz et al., “Planar chips technology for miniaturization and integration of separation techniques into monitoring systems: Capillary electrophoresis on a chip” Journal of Chromatography A (1992) 593:253-258.
Rhee et al., “Drop Mixing in a Microchannel for Lab-on-a-Chip Applications” Langmuir, (2008) 24 (2): 590-601.
Sammarco et al., “Thermocapillary Pumping of Discrete Drops in Microfabricated Analysis Devices” AlChE Journal, (1999) 45(2): 350-366.
Taylor et al., “Optimization of the performance of the polymerase chain reaction in silicon-based microstructures” Nucleic Acids Res., 1997, vol. 25, pp. 3164-3168.
Terry et al., “A Gas Chromatographic Air Analyzer Fabricated on a Silicon Wafer” IEEE T Electron Dev (1979) 26:1880-1886.
Whitesides G.M., “The origins and the future of microfluidics” Nature (2006) 442(7101):368-373.
Woias P., “Micropumps—past, progress and future prospects” Sens. Actuators, B. (2005) 105, 28-38.
Woolley et al., “Functional integration of PCR amplification and capillary electrophoresis in a microfabricated DNA analysis device” Anal. Chem., 1996, vol. 68, pp. 4081-4086.
Wu et al., “Fabrication of Complex Three-dimensional Microchannel Systems in PDMS” J. Am. Chem. Soc. (2003) 125, 554-559.
Record of Oral Hearing in IPR2019-00488 and IPR2019-00490 held Apr. 21, 2020 in 80 pages; Petitioner's Demonstratives for Oral Hearing in IPR2019-00488 and IPR2019-00490 held Apr. 21, 2020 in 72 pages; Patent Owner's Demonstratives for Oral Hearing in IPR2019-00488 and IPR2019-00490 held Apr. 21, 2020 in 88 pages; Patent Owner's Objections to Petitioner's Oral Hearing Demonstratives in IPR2019-00488 and IPR2019-00490 dated Apr. 16, 2020 (4 pages).
Petition for Inter Partes Review of U.S. Pat. No. 8,273,308 (Paper 2 in IPR2020-01083) dated Jun. 12, 2020 (104 pages).
Petition for Inter Partes Review of U.S. Pat. No. 8,273,308 (Paper 2 in IPR2020-01091) dated Jun. 12, 2020 (105 pages).
Petition for Inter Partes Review of U.S. Pat. No. 8,803,069 (Paper 2 in IPR2020-01095) dated Jun. 12, 2020 (84 pages).
Petition for Inter Partes Review of U.S. Pat. No. 8,803,069 (Paper 3 in IPR2020-01100) dated Jun. 12, 2020 (83 pages).
Declaration of Mark A. Burns, Ph.D. (Exhibit N1001 in IPR2020-01083, IPR2020-01091, IPR2020-01095 and IPR2020-01100) dated Jun. 12, 2020 (378 pages).
Petition for Inter Partes Review of U.S. Pat. No. 8,709,787 (Paper 2 in IPR2020-01132) dated Jun. 18, 2020 (96 pages).
Petition for Inter Partes Review of U.S. Pat. No. 8,415,103 (Paper 2 in IPR2020-01133) dated Jun. 18, 2020 (96 pages).
Declaration of Mark A. Burns, Ph.D. (Exhibit N1101 in IPR2020-01132 and IPR2020-01133) dated Jun. 17, 2020 (253 pages).
Petition for Inter Partes Review of U.S. Pat. No. 8,415,103 (Paper 2 in IPR2020-01136) dated Jun. 19, 2020 (85 pages).
Petition for Inter Partes Review of U.S. Pat. No. 8,709,787 (Paper 2 in IPR2020-01137) dated Jun. 19, 2020 (86 pages).
Declaration of Mark A. Burns, Ph.D. (Exhibit N1210 in IPR2020-01136 and IPR2020-01137) dated Jun. 19, 2020 (205 pages).
U.S. File History of U.S. Appl. No. 60/491,264, filed Jul. 31, 2003 (50 pages).
U.S. File History of U.S. Appl. No. 60/491,269, filed Jul. 31, 2003 (59 pages).
U.S. File History of U.S. Appl. No. 60/491,539, filed Aug. 1, 2003 (55 pages).
U.S. File History of U.S. Appl. No. 60/553,553, filed Mar. 17, 2004 (59 pages).
U.S. File History of U.S. Appl. No. 60/726,066, filed Oct. 11, 2005 (68 pages).
U.S. File History of U.S. Appl. No. 60/786,007, filed Mar. 24, 2006 (247 pages).
U.S. File History of U.S. Appl. No. 60/859,284, filed Nov. 14, 2006 (121 pages).
Zhang et al., “Parallel DNA amplification by convective polymerase chain reaction with various annealing temperatures on a thermal gradient device,” Analytical Biochemistry, (2009) 387:102-112.
Judgment/Final Written Decision Determining No Challenged Claims Unpatentable in Inter Partes Review of U.S. Pat. No. 7,998,708 (Paper No. 52 in IPR2019-00488) dated Jul. 14, 2020 (43 pages).
Judgment/Final Written Decision Determining No Challenged Claims Unpatentable in Inter Partes Review of U.S. Pat. No. 8,323,900 (Paper No. 51 in IPR2019-00490) dated Jul. 14, 2020 (43 pages).
Petitioner's Notice of Appeal in Inter Partes Review of U.S. Pat. No. 7,998,708 (Paper No. 54 in IPR2019-00488) dated Sep. 9, 2020 (48 pages).
Petitioner's Notice of Appeal in Inter Partes Review of U.S. Pat. No. 8,323,900 (Paper No. 53 in IPR2019-00490) dated Sep. 9, 2020 (48 pages).
Patent Owner's Preliminary Response to Petition for Inter Partes Review of U.S. Pat. No. 8,703,069 (Paper 13 in IPR2020-01095) dated Sep. 17, 2020 (77 pages).
Patent Owner's Preliminary Response to Petition for Inter Partes Review of U.S. Pat. No. 8,273,308 (Paper 13 in IPR2020-01091) dated Sep. 17, 2020 (70 pages).
Patent Owner's Preliminary Response to Petition for Inter Partes Review of U.S. Pat. No. 8,703,069 (Paper 14 in IPR2020-01100) dated Sep. 17, 2020 (59 pages).
Declaration of M. Allen Northrup, Ph.D. in Support of Patent Owner Preliminary Responses in IPR2020-01091, IPR2020-01095 and IPR2020-01100 (Exhibit H2003) dated Sep. 16, 2020 (137 pages).
Patent Owner's Preliminary Response to Petition for Inter Partes Review of U.S. Pat. No. 8,273,308 (Paper 13 in IPR2020-01083) dated Oct. 22, 2020 (88 pages).
Declaration of M. Allen Northrup, Ph.D. in support of Patent Owner Preliminary Responses in IPR2020-01083, IPR2020-01091, IPR2020-01095 and IPR2020-01100 (Exhibit H2003) dated Oct. 21, 2020 (171 pages).
First Amended and Supplemental Complaint filed by Becton, Dickinson and Company et al. on Jun. 25, 2020 in U.S. District Court, Delaware, Case #1:19-cv-01126-LPS, Infringement Action involving U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,998,708; 8,273,308; 8,323,900; 8,415,103; 8,703,069; 8,709,787; 10,494,663; 10,364,456; 10,443,088; 10,604,788; 10,625,261; 10,625,262; and 10,632,466 (55 pages).
Answer to First Amended and Supplemental Complaint filed by NeuModx Molecular, Inc. on Jul. 16, 2020 in U.S. District Court, Delaware, Case #1:19-cv-01126-LPS (42 pages).
Defendant NeuModx's Initial Invalidity Contentions filed Sep. 30, 2020 in U.S. District Court, Delaware, Case #1:19-cv-01126-LPS (47 pages).
Northrup et al., “A MEMS-based Miniature DNA Analysis System.” Transducers '95—Eurosensors in Proc. 1995 (8th) IEEE Int. Conf. Solid-State Sens. Actuators, pp. 764-767.
Petition for Inter Partes Review of U.S. Pat. No. 10,625,262 (Paper 2 in IPR2021-00250) dated Nov. 25, 2020 (107 pages).
Petition for Inter Partes Review of U.S. Pat. No. 10,625,261 (Paper 2 in IPR2021-00251) dated Nov. 25, 2020 (117 pages).
Petition for Inter Partes Review of U.S. Pat. No. 10,632,466 (Paper 2 in IPR2021-00253) dated Nov. 25, 2020 (121 pages).
Declaration of Mark A. Burns, Ph.D. (Exhibit N1001 in IPR2021-00250, IPR2021-00251 and IPR2021-00253) dated Nov. 24, 2020 (311 pages).
Declaration of James L. Mullins, Ph.D. (Exhibit N1029 in IPR2021-00250, IPR2021-00251, and IPR2021-00253) dated Nov. 18, 2020 (54 pages).
Decision Denying Institution of Inter Partes Review of U.S. Pat. No. 8,273,308 (Paper 14 in IPR2020-01091) dated Dec. 4, 2020 (21 pages).
Decision Denying Institution of Inter Partes Review of U.S. Pat. No. 8,703,069 (Paper 14 in IPR2020-01095) dated Dec. 4, 2020 (22 pages).
Decision Denying Institution of Inter Partes Review of U.S. Pat. No. 8,703,069 (Paper 15 in IPR2020-01100) dated Dec. 4, 2020 (19 pages).
Defendant NeuModx's Joint Claim Construction Chart [Exhibit N1023] filed Oct. 21, 2020 in U.S. District Court, Delaware, Case #1:19-cv-01126-LPS (25 pages).
Defendant NeuModx's Initial Amended Answer, Affirmative Defenses, and Counterclaims to Plaintiffs' First Amended and Supplemental Complaint filed Nov. 23, 2020 in U.S. District Court, Delaware, Case #1:19-cv-01126-LPS (97 pages).
Related Publications (1)
Number Date Country
20200291388 A1 Sep 2020 US
Provisional Applications (1)
Number Date Country
60959437 Jul 2007 US
Continuations (6)
Number Date Country
Parent 16818458 Mar 2020 US
Child 16890752 US
Parent 16158752 Oct 2018 US
Child 16818458 US
Parent 14976746 Dec 2015 US
Child 16158752 US
Parent 14262525 Apr 2014 US
Child 14976746 US
Parent 13692980 Dec 2012 US
Child 14262525 US
Parent 12172214 Jul 2008 US
Child 13692980 US