Patent Application
20090258797
The present invention pertains to methods for manufacturing and using apparatus for manipulating, transporting, and analyzing a large number of microscopic samples of a liquid or of materials including cells currently or formerly in liquid suspension.
Chemistry on the micro-scale, involving the reaction and subsequent analysis of quantities of reagents or analytes of order microliters or smaller, is an increasingly important aspect of the development of new substances in the pharmaceutical and other industries. Such reaction and analysis may accommodate vast libraries containing as many as a million compounds to be reacted and analyzed under various conditions. Significant problems associated with current technologies as applied to chemical analysis of vast numbers (potentially on the order of hundreds of thousands or millions per day) of compounds include the problem of handling vast numbers of compounds and reactions in parallel.
Existing technology relies on 96-, 384-, or 1536-well plates containing quantities between approximately 1 microliter and 1 milliliter of liquid compound per well, and, generally, involves chemical reactions and analysis in wells disposed with single openings on flat surfaces such as polystyrene. It is not practical to apply existing technology in the art to form million-well microtiter plates. There is a need, therefore, for new approaches that permit the analysis of a million samples in a laboratory format.
In accordance with preferred embodiments of the present invention, a method and an array filling system are provided for loading a plurality of disparate sample containers, the sample containers comprising an integral structure. In the array filling system for transferring liquid to an array of receptacles, each receptacle is characterized by a hydrophilic surface, and the receptacles are separated by a hydrophobic surface. The system has a liquid transfer device capable of holding liquid and adapted for motion to cause sequential communication of liquid held in the liquid transfer device with successive receptacles of the array by dragging the liquid across the hydrophobic surface.
In accordance with other embodiments of the invention, the array filling system has an array of liquid transfer devices capable of holding liquid, the plurality of liquid transfer devices adapted for motion to cause sequential communication of liquid held in the liquid transfer devices with successive receptacles of the array by dragging the liquid across the hydrophobic surface.
In accordance with yet other embodiments of the invention, a method is provided for transferring a liquid into an array of receptacles having hydrophilic surfaces and separated by a hydrophobic surface. The method has steps of:
In further embodiments of the invention, the method may have a further step of withdrawing residual fluid from the surface of the platen. The step of causing communication of liquid in the liquid transfer device with the hydrophilic surfaces of the plurality of hydrophilic receptacles may include forming a droplet of the liquid on the end of a capillary, or on the end of a pipette or needle, and may, further, include transferring liquid into through-holes of an array of through-holes.
The invention will be more readily understood by reference to the following description, taken with the accompanying drawings, in which:
a and 1b show a top and exploded cross-sectional views, respectively, of a high-density array of through-holes in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;
c shows a schematic side view of a continuous sheet array of through-holes in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention;
a is top view of a portion of the platen of
b is top view of a portion of the platen of
a-5d show examples of arrays with through-hole volumes that are a function of array position;
e and 5f show cross sections of through-hole prisms as employed for massively parallel liquid chromatography or electrophoresis, in accordance with embodiments of the present invention;
a-9c depict a sequence of operations for filling a through-hole array with a first liquid;
a depicts parallel loading of subarrays of multiple stacked microwell arrays in accordance with embodiments of the present invention;
b and 12c depict parallel loading of subarrays of a microwell array by means of flexible members, in accordance with embodiments of the present invention;
a is a flow chart depicting a method for successive dilution of the contents of a microwell array in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;
a-14c depict a sequence of operations for exposing respective through-holes of a through-hole array to a second liquid and for creating a specified gradient of a specified characteristic with respect to placement of the through-holes in the array in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;
d shows a side view is shown of a through-hole array plate with a graduated filter for providing a concentration gradient in accordance with an embodiment of the invention;
a depicts an exploded perspective view of a portable humidity chamber for preventing evaporation of fluid from the arrays during fluorescent imaging analysis, incubation and transferring the array between other humidified environments; and
b is a cross-sectional side view of the a portable humidity chamber of
In accordance with the present invention, methods are provided for producing different chemical reactions within an array of through-holes. The invention is advantageously employed, for example, in screening operations, where different reaction conditions are advantageously provided among the various through-holes of the array. As an example of the many modalities of use of the invention, different chemical species may be loaded into different through-holes of the array, and concentrations of the various species might also be differentiated among the various through-holes. The invention may thus provide a method for screening compound libraries, for example, to predict the ability of each compound to be absorbed by a patient.
In accordance with preferred embodiments of the invention, a high-density array of through-holes is provided, as now discussed with reference to
Through-holes 12 constitute assay wells (or “microwells”) in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. Through-holes 12 may be shaped as circular right cylinders, or, alternatively, may have rectangular cross-sections. Otherwise-shaped through-holes are also within the scope of the present invention.
While through-hole plate 10 is preferably made of conductive silicon, other types of rigid materials, such as metal, glass, or plastic may be used provided that the material is chemically inert with respect to the sample substances, or can be rendered so by appropriate surface treatments.
Each through-hole 12 is typically of a substantially square cross-section, although geometries, such as circular or rectangular cross-sections may be used. Through-holes 12 are also referred to herein as “channels.”
Through-holes 12 may be centered on a rectangular grid, as shown in
Grouping of through-holes into smaller sub-arrays may also be used, and, more particularly, a reproducible pattern may be applied to a plurality of the sub-arrays. Each through-hole 12 may be identified by its own address within the array.
Referring, again, to
An underfilled microwell 26 will typically be characterized by a liquid sample exhibiting a concave meniscus 28 on both the upper and lower surfaces of liquid sample 30.
The apertures of through-holes 12 need not be square, and, in accordance with an alternate embodiment of the present invention, flanges 8 may extend above planar surface 14 surrounding some or all of through-holes 12 while indentations 6 may be fabricated rounding the edges of through-holes 12 at opposing surface 16. Flanges 8 and indentations 6 may advantageously provide for registration of successive platens 10, in the case where platens are stacked, and in processes of mixing or dilution, as discussed in detail below.
Through-holes 12 may be loaded with a first sample 18 in liquid form. Sample 18 is allowed to react with a second sample where the second sample may include a variety of test samples and by subsequent or concurrent analysis of the reaction products, using, for example, optical markers, a large number of reactions may be processed and analyzed in parallel.
As applied to biological assays, by way of example, first sample 18 may be a solution containing pharmacologically relevant proteins or other molecules. Such a solution may include, for example, cells in aqueous suspension, eukaryotic (animal, yeast) or prokaryotic (bacteria) cells, hybrid cells, and biological molecules including, for example, antibodies and enzymes, although application to other biological or non-biological assays is within the scope of the invention as claimed herein. All such reagents may also be referred to herein and in the appended claims as “targets.” Typical yeast cell concentrations of 107 cells per milliliter of solution yield on the order of 1000 cells per 100 nanoliter well. Typically, an entire chip or the subset of through-hole wells constituting a contiguous region of platen 10 may be populated with a single strain of cells.
A typical procedure assay procedure, such as may be employed in pharmaceutical research, entails the subsequent addressed introduction of a test sample including one or more analytes into the through-hole wells, with selected materials introduced into subsets of through-holes that may include one or more through-holes. The test sample addressably introduced into the subsets of through-holes may contain drug candidates or known drugs. The test sample may be comprised of multiple components, introduced at the same time or sequentially. Components of the test sample may include analytes, antagonists, reagents, solvents, or any other materials and may be introduced in liquid form or otherwise. In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention, test samples are introduced into the through-hole wells in liquid form in order to facilitate rapid reaction via diffusion with first sample 18 already resident in liquid form in the through-holes.
The set of substances from which the second sample addressed to a particular through-hole site is drawn is referred to in this description and in the appended claims as a “library” of substances. In typical applications, the library is of a substantial size and thus advantageously utilizes the capability of the present invention to facilitate parallel reaction and analysis of large numbers of substances. In pharmaceutical applications in particular, libraries may be composed of between 103 and 109 substances and combinations of substances.
Referring now to
Sample array sheets 300 are preferably produced with registered holes, either by precision production processes or in matched sets. The sheet composition may be a polymer, elastomer, or metal, including an amorphous metal. Multiple sheets may be mated in the same way that platens of through-holes may be stacked, as described below, for example, with reference to
As an example of an application in which a genetic library is screened for improved enzymes using a one step assay, an E. coli genetic library is prepared containing mutations in the beta galactosidase enzyme. The E. coli cells are grown to a density in phosphate-limited media such that there is an average of 1 cell for every 200 nl of liquid. The media also contains, MUG, a fluorogenic substrate for beta-galactosidase. A through-hole sheet is prepared with a hydrophobic exterior and hydrophilic through-holes at a density of 10̂7 per square meter. Registration holes are includes in the tape to aid in precise dispensing. Each through-hole holds 70 nl of fluid. A spool of the through-hole sheet is unwound and guided through a trough containing the cell solution, so that each through hole is filled. The sheet is then wound onto spacers and into a receiving spool. The spacers prevent smearing of the liquid and provide for gas transfer in and out of the spool. The spool is incubated in a humidified environment at 37° C. for 24 hours. The spool is then unwound as it is passed between a uniform photo-illumination source with a wavelength of 350 nm and a CCD imaging system with a 450 nm filter. The position in the sheet of colonies with exceptionally high enzyme activity is recorded and those colonies are retrieved using a robotic microfluid handling system for further analysis. This assay can also be performed by co-registering and mating a second, identical, sheet containing the fluorogenic substrate with the first sheet containing the bacteria. An absorbance measurement may also be performed to normalize the signal output for the number of bacteria.
In accordance with another alternate embodiment of the present invention, described with reference to
Referring now to
Another method to produce different through-hole volumes as a function of array position is to change the distance between top and bottom surfaces of the plate defining the hole length 52, as shown in
For each array geometry, a second array fabricated having surfaces that are the complement of the first array's geometry may be used, in accordance with alternate embodiments of the invention, to facilitates vertical stacking of the arrays, as shown in
Applications of Arrays of Non-Uniform Volume
One application of arrays having through-holes of non-uniform volume is mixing of different volumes of liquids such as in a dilution sequence, as described below. An advantage of this method is that stacking of multiple arrays, as also described below, may be obviated while a wide range of dilution may be achieved.
Another application of arrays of either constant or non-uniform through-hole volumes is fraction collection from chromatographic elution. The through-hole array advantageously provides the ability to collect a large number of small volume fractions, which can then be further separated within the through-hole array, as described below. This, in turn, advantageously increases the resolution of chromatographic separation over prior technology.
Yet another application of non-standard array geometries is for massively parallel liquid chromatography or electrophoresis. More particularly, referring to
Fabrication of the Through-Hole Array
Referring now to
As shown in
High-density arrays of through-holes may be formed in conducting materials, including conductive (>10 Ω−1-cm−1) silicon wafers, using a combination of wire and die sink EDM. EDM is typically used in the preparation of tooling dies for injection molding. As is well known, the machining process involves ionizing away the surface of a conducting material, typically a metal. EDM can be performed using a tip-based electrode, or a “wire.” Wire-EDM is used when fine surface finishes are required, or when subtle machining features not achievable with a tip electrode are desired. Traditional wire-EDM machining utilizes wire approximately 250 μm in diameter. Due to the small dimensions and high packing densities of the invention an adapted microwire EMD process is used that employs wires with diameters down to 30 μM. This system may provide surface finishes down to 100 nm, essentially a mirror finish.
Referring to
In contrast with deep reactive ion etching—the process commonly used to produce high aspect ratio structures in silicon—the EDM technique described herein may advantageously reduce fabrication time and cost.
After the master die is fabricated with wire EDM, it may typically be used to sink an array of microchannels through a 0.5-mm thick silicon wafer in less than two minutes. Additional machining time, during which the master die moves largely in the plane of the array, is typically needed to enlarge the holes to the desired dimension and to improve the surface finish. The fabrication process described has been used to sink microchannels of sizes up to 10 000 elements with cross-sections <300 μm×300 μm and element spacings <500 μm. Another advantage of this technique is that it may also be used to a manufacture stainless steel precision alignment jig that is used to align the chips for mixing and optical readout, as described herein.
Combined with the precision alignment jig, this EDM process results in <10 μm center-to-center total error in channel spacing across the entire array. This guarantees accurate hole alignment across arrays, and when combined with the hydrophobic exterior coating, minimizes cross talk between microchannels.
Referring again to
As discussed above, with reference to
In accordance with preferred embodiments of the invention, a dense array 10 of through-holes 12 is produced in silicon and coated in silicon oxide by oxidation. The surfaces of the conductive silicon are covered in a thin oxide layer. The wafer is then cleaned by soaking in a mixture of hydrogen peroxide and sulfuric acid, or other caustic solvent cleaning solution, to remove organic materials. Clean silicon oxide thus produced has a high surface energy. The top and bottom faces of the arrays are made hydrophobic by exposing them to vapor from a solution containing an appropriate silanizing agent (such as polydimethylsiloxane, sold as Glassclad 216™ by United Chemical Technologies, Inc.) in a volatile solvent. The silanizing agent reacts with the hydroxyl and silanol groups on the array surface and creates covalent bonds to hydrophobic alkyl groups.
The resulting coated arrays can be uniformly loaded with aqueous solutions by simply dipping the array into it. The liquid instantaneously fills the channels through capillary pressure, but does not wet the other surfaces. Hydrophobic coatings produced in this way are stable under high humidity and they can be used repeatedly over several days. Other surface chemistries may be exploited to attach hydrophobic chemical groups to the faces of arrays made from other materials. For example a gold-coated surface reacts with alkane thiols to attach a hydrophobic alkyl groups, as discussed by C. D. Bain et al., J. Am. Chem. Soc., vol. 111, pp. 321-325 (1989), which reference is incorporated herein by reference.
In accordance with other embodiments of the present invention, the surface chemistry of the array faces may also be selectively modified by substituting other silanizing agents for the polydimethylsiloxane telomer. This method may advantageously prevent aqueous solutions from adhering to array faces during array loading and also act as physical barriers between the aqueous solutions in adjacent through-holes. During this process a positive pressure of inert gas is applied to the opposite side of the array. The positive pressure within the through-holes prevents the silanizing vapor from reaching the interior surfaces. This method advantageously allows removal and reapplication of the hydrophobic coating.
Array Loading Techniques
Dip Loading
Referring now to
Dip loading may be employed, for example, in order to fill an entire array with the same solution. A through-hole array 10 is produced and chemically treated to make the array faces hydrophobic and the through-hole surfaces hydrophilic. Plate 10 with through-holes 12 is first lowered into a container 90 containing a first liquid 82, as shown in
Both convection and diffusion can be used to induce mixing between fluids in microchannel arrays. This can be demonstrated by filling a microarray with aqueous solution of blue dye and by submerging the microarray into a beaker of still water to induce dilution via diffusion. A small mechanical disturbance (such as a tap to the side of the beaker) causes rapid replacement of the blue dye by water. Alternative methods for filling the array with water include spraying the array with water or sonicating the array in a reservoir of water in order to remove trapped air bubble prior to dip loading are also within the scope of the present invention.
Similarly, an array having hydrophilic faces and hydrophobic through-holes may be uniformly filled with a low surface tension liquid such as an alkane.
Loading by Dragging Droplet Along Array Surface
Droplet dragging is performed to load an entire array or a group of channels within a single array with the same fluid. It is appropriate for loading samples which must be conserved because of cost or availability. To perform a loading operation by dragging, a droplet of the loading solution is formed on the end of a syringe needle, micropipette or other fluid dispensing capillary. The drop is placed on the array face over the through-holes to be filled. The capillary is then moved to drag the drop across the surface of the array and over the channels to be filled. Surface tension maintains contact between the capillary tip and the fluid drop. When the drop is depleted additional fluid is dispensed until all desired through-holes have been filled. The capillary and any remaining fluid in the drop are then withdrawn from the array surface.
Transfer of Liquids Between Microtiter Plates to Through-Hole Array
In accordance with further embodiments of the invention, a method is provided to transfer liquids from standard microtiter plate formats (96-, 384-, or 1536-wells, for example) to a single array of through-holes or multiple, vertically stacked arrays in which holes in the same spatial location from one array to the next are co-registered. As used herein, the term “registration” refers to aligning a through-hole plate with at least one other through-hole plate, such that the tops of a plurality of through-holes of one of the plates coincide with the bottoms of a plurality of corresponding through-holes of the other plate or plates, thereby creating a plurality of contiguous channels.
All of the filling examples given can be performed in parallel on a single array stack with multiple capillary tubing arrays filled with liquids from different microtiter plates or the same microtiter plate. Fluid may be transferred from chemical libraries stored in 96- and 384-well microtiter plates quite rapidly with these methods. For example, if 100 arrays with 105 through-holes per array are to be filled with liquid stored in 96 well plates, and if each transfer operation (plate exchange, fluid loading and transfer) takes approximately 20 s, then the requisite arrays may be filled within approximately six hours. The filling operations take place preferably in an environmentally-controlled chamber (temperature, humidity, atmosphere, etc.), as described below.
Transfer of Liquids from Microtiter Plates to One or More Through-Hole Array
Referring now to
Capillary Tube Array
Viewed in cross-section, a capillary tube array 100 is constructed from capillary tubing 102 with an external diameter that fits precisely into the through-holes of a through-hole microwell array 10. Tubing array 100 is designed such that tubing 102 at one end 104 has a center-to-center spacing 106 equal to the spacing between holes in through-hole array 10 (or, alternatively, to an integral multiple of the inter-hole spacing) and tubing at the opposite end 108 has a center-to-center spacing equal to the center-to-center spacing 110 of wells 112 in a microtiter plate 114. Plates 116, 118, and 120, with through-holes having these and intermediate separations serve as jigs to hold the tubing in a regular array. Additional through-hole plates 116, 118, and 120 placed between the two ends may advantageously serve as spacer jigs providing additional support for the tubing array as the center-to-center spacing varies over the tubing length.
In addition to filling a single through-hole microwell array 10, the technique depicted in
One end 108 of tubing array 100 is inserted into the wells of a microtiter plate 114, each tube being inserted into a corresponding well 112. Next, a negative pressure difference is applied across the length of tubing 102 to draw liquid, in direction 126, from each well into its corresponding tube. Negative pressure could be applied to each tube individually, or as shown in
Proximity Filling
Embodiments of the invention also provide for methods for filling a stack of arrays, as shown in cross-section in
Inter-Hole Spacing Matched to a Microtiter Plate
A method for filling a through-hole array stack, in accordance with alternate embodiments of the invention, is shown in
The volume of liquid withdrawn into each syringe preferably equals the volume of liquid in a column of aligned through-holes in the array stack. The liquid can then be dispensed as the syringe array is retracted from the array stack, and the rate of dispensing can be synchronized with the rate of withdrawal, such that each through-hole addressed by the syringe array is filled. Once this operation is completed, either a new set of holes in the array stack can be filled from the same microtiter plate or the syringe array can be washed and different set of holes filled from a different microtiter plate.
All of the filling examples given above may be performed in parallel on a single array stack with multiple capillary tubing arrays filled with liquids from different microtiter plates or the same microtiter plate. The time to transfer fluid from chemical libraries stored in 96 and 384 well microtiter plates with these methods can be quite rapid. Assuming, for example, that 100 arrays with 10,000 through-holes per array are to be filled with liquid stored in 96 well plates, and that each transfer operation (plate exchange, fluid loading and transfer) takes approximately 20 seconds, then it would take approximately six hours to fill all of the arrays. The filling operations can take place in an environmental controlled chamber (temperature, humidity, atmosphere, etc.). The invention also provides a method for screening compound libraries to predict the ability of each compound to be absorbed by a patient.
Transfer from a Microtiter Plate with an Array of Flexible Members
As now described with reference to
Addressable loading may also be employed to fill a series of through-holes with different and specified concentrations of the same solute. A chosen series of through-holes is filled with a quantity of solvent, denoted Z nanoliters (nL), either by dipping the holes into the solvent or by dispensing the solvent from a microsyringe 232 (shown in
Chemical Gradient Methods
In accordance with preferred embodiments of the invention, a particular chemical species is not loaded uniformly into all the holes of an array, but, rather, a gradient of chemical species is created in at least one dimension in a two-dimensional through-hole array. As used in this description and in any of the appended claims, the term “gradient” refers to its ordinary mathematical meaning, i.e., a variation, along one or more directions, of a specified quantity. The directions, here, are taken along the surface of an array of through-holes. Thus, a gradient in the concentration of a specified chemical species in the through-holes may be said to exist with respect to a particular direction, or, for that matter, with respect to various directions. Thus, a particular gradient may be, but need not be, monotonic, and the concentration of a species, in a specified direction, may rise and fall.
Referring now to
After an array has been filled, by dip loading, with first liquid 82, as discussed above with reference to
In accordance with alternate embodiments of the invention, other means may be employed in order to spatially modulate the concentration of a specified species allowed to diffuse into a through-hole located at a particular position within the array. Referring to
In a related example, by slowly lowering a through-hole array filled with a gel forming solution thin-edge first into a polymerization initiating mixture different gel densities may be obtained within in holes. By rotating plate 10 by 90° about axis y transverse to the surface of the plate, and then slowly dipping into a reagent that derivatizes the gel with a free cationic moiety, and then rotating another 180° about y and slowly dipping into a reagent that derivatizes the gel with an anionic moiety, a two-dimensional size/charge selection matrix is created that is useful for separating protein mixtures in a manner similar to a 2-D polyacrylamide gel, but with the advantage of greater separation speed and greater access to the separated proteins.
In another embodiment, concentration gradients within through-hole arrays are use to optimize the concentrations of A and B in a two-component reaction between Reagent A and Reagent B. The mixing process is described in greater detail below. Referring to
Variants from the basic scheme for creating a known two-dimensional gradient in the relative proportions of A and B include loading the A and B arrays by dipping along a diagonal, by the orthogonal combination of two arrays each with a 2-D gradient of A relative to B or by dilution with arrays loaded with Reagent A or B where some of the through-holes are empty. Analysis of the through-hole contents readily determines optimal reaction conditions since the reaction conditions in each through-hole are known. Gradients created in the solution with respect to quantities other than solute concentration are also to be understood to be within the scope of the present invention, and may include, without limitation, such characteristics as temperature, electric field, magnetic field, etc.
Mixing and Dilution
As discussed in greater detail in the following sections, microwell plates may advantageously be stacked for such purposes as mixing or dilution. One such application is the apportionment among through-holes of a sample of cells. Considering, for purposes of example only, through-holes on a single plate that are 250 μm square and 500 μm deep. When three such microchannel plates are stacked (as would be the case in a 2-step assay), the total volume of a single channel (i.e., the combined volume of three through-holes) is ˜100 nL. If the entire channel is filled from a dense yeast cell culture (˜107/mL) each channel then contains approximately 103 yeast cells. Based upon a yeast cell volume of 70 μm3, the maximum number of cells per 100 nL channel is on the order of 106, consonant with a typical minimum of 100 cells per microchannel is required to compensate for variable yeast cell response to the bioassays.
Referring to
Alternatively, the platen surfaces 154 may be hydrophilic and a sufficient amount of a low surface energy fluid, such as an alkane, for example, is loaded into the through-holes 12 to form positive menisci 152.
Referring to
In yet other embodiments of the invention, with reference to
Control of Environmental Factors
In accordance with embodiments of the invention, methods and apparatus are provided for maintaining high relative humidity levels (typically above 95%) in the environment surrounding through-hole arrays during various operations of the invention. Maintenance of high humidity levels may advantageously minimize, if not eliminate, evaporation of solutions contained in the through-hole arrays. The level of humidity required to keep the volume loss at an acceptable level depends upon the length of time needed to perform the various desired operations, as well as on such factors as the ambient temperature, and the volume of fluid contained in each through-hole. At a temperature of 21° C., the evaporative loss expected from a droplet of water may be predicted in accordance with Fick's law, as depicted in
Humidity control during addressable loading and unloading
With reference to
Computer control of motorized translation stages may be provided, such as along axis y to move the fluid transfer element 224 towards and away from the top face 226 of the through-hole array 10. Fluid transfer element 224 may include syringe 232 with plunger 234 fluid transfer element 224, for example. Additionally, the arrays and reservoir may be moved in the plane of the x and y axes, preferably by motorized stage 228 under control of controller 230, with respect to the fluid transfer element. If indicated, further computer-controlled stages may be provided, for example, to actuate the fluid transfer device. Transfer of materials between the microtiter plate and through-hole array proceed by means described above in reference to
Additional reservoir(s) containing solution(s) for cleaning/sterilizing the fluid transfer element may also be provided within the confines of chamber 236 which encloses the apparatus heretofore described. Alternatively the water in the large reservoir 210 may be used for this purpose. An illumination source 238 may also be provided for to illuminate the array for optical inspection during loading/unloading, either visually or by means of a video camera 240.
Humidity Control During Dip Loading and Mixing
An environment enclosure 236, as shown in
Cool water vapor is generated by an external humidifier and injected into the chamber through a port. An ultrasonic humidifier is able to generate enough vapor to maintain humidity levels above 95% in a 0.13 cubic meter chamber. A circulation system consisting of a fan and baffles is provided to distribute the water vapor uniformly throughout the chamber. Various doors, hatches and iris ports may be provided for accessing the interior of the chamber. The temperature within the box may be controlled by a resistive heater and an electronic temperature controller. Such a chamber may be assembled by attaching a second humidifier to a commercial infant incubator.
Any surface which must be kept dry, including optical windows, and corrodible metals may be heated slightly above the ambient to prevent condensation. A humidity sensor is also provided to monitor humidity levels inside the chamber. All computer and electronic hardware are placed outside the chamber and are connected to components inside the chamber via a wire feedthrough.
The through-hole array may be filled within the chamber, or loaded externally and transferred into to the chamber in a humidified sealed cassette.
Humidity Control During Optical Analysis and Transfer Between Loading Stations
Referring now to
The humidity is raised by passive evaporation from water contained in a transparent glass microcapillary bundle 252 (or, ‘microchannel array’) mounted beneath the through-hole array and secured by set screws or some other mechanical means. (Glass microcapillary bundles are manufactured by Schott Fiber Optics, Southbridge, Mass.). Typical dimensions for each capillary 264 are diameter of 200 microns and depth of 1 mm. The top 266 and bottom 268 of the microchannel array 252 are made hydrophobic according to the procedures described above. The arrangement of the capillaries 264 in the array need not be regular. Water 270 in the capillaries forms a set of microlenses which serve to diffuse light from light source 272 across the array and thus provide a uniform illumination field for optical analysis. The use of liquid microlens arrays, generally, is within the scope of the present invention.
Another advantage of the aqueous lens array is that the water is held in place by surface tension. Thus the operator need not keep the humidity cassette level, or avoid applying the typical accelerations that occur when the plate is carried around a room and placed on horizontal surfaces. Also the cassette may be agitated during incubation to promote cell growth inside the arrays.
Control of Other Environmental Factors
Pressure, light and temperature, are controlled by enclosing the array in an appropriately constructed chamber and then controlling the environment inside the chamber by conventional means. To prevent evaporation such chamber must also be equipped to maintain high relative humidity.
Having thus described various illustrative embodiments of the present invention and some of its advantages and optional features, it will be apparent that such embodiments are presented by way of example only and are not by way of limitation. Those skilled in the art could readily devise alternations and improvements on these embodiments, as well as additional embodiments, without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. All such modifications are within the scope of the invention as claimed.
The present application is a continuation of copending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/958,969, filed Oct. 5, 2004, itself a divisional of copending U.S. U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/820,679, filed Apr. 8, 2004, itself a divisional of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/850,123, filed May 7, 2001 and now issued, which, in turn, claims priority from U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/239,538, filed Oct. 10, 2000, and is also a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/225,583, filed Jan. 5, 1999, and now issued, which, in turn, claims priority from U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/071,179, filed Jan. 12, 1998, from all of which applications the present application claims priority. The contents of each of these applications is hereby incorporated by reference herein.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 60239538 | Oct 2000 | US | |
| 60071179 | Jan 1998 | US |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | 10820679 | Apr 2004 | US |
| Child | 10958969 | US | |
| Parent | 09850123 | May 2001 | US |
| Child | 10820679 | US |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | 10958969 | Oct 2004 | US |
| Child | 12468417 | US |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | 09225583 | Jan 1999 | US |
| Child | 09850123 | US |
