US 10,591,416 B2Granted

Optical systems and methods for biological analysis

AssigneeLife Technologies Corporation

InventorsMingsong Chen, Mauro Aguanno, Kuan Moon Boo, Woon Liang Terence Soh, Jacob K. Freudenthal, Jeffrey A. Marks

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Abstract

An instrument for processing and/or measuring a biological process contains a sample processing system, an excitation source, an excitation optical system, an optical sensor, and an emission optical system. The sample processing system is configured to retain a first sample holder and a second sample holder, wherein the number of sample cells is different for each sample holder or a characteristic dimension for the first sample cells is different from that of the second sample holder. The instrument also includes an excitation source temperature controller comprising a temperature sensor that is coupled to the excitation source. The temperature controller is configured to produce a first target temperature when the first sample holder is retained by the instrument and to produce a second target temperature when the second sample holder is retained by the instrument.

Claims21

Dependent claims

A method of performing a biological assay using an instrument configured to interchangeably receive different sample holders corresponding to a plurality of differing sample holder formats, the instrument comprising a light emitting diode excitation source, an optical sensor, a memory, and a sample processing system, the method comprising:

selecting a light emitting diode duty cycle corresponding to a sample holder format from a plurality of stored light emitting duty cycles stored in the memory of the instrument;
setting the light emitting diode excitation source to the selected light emitting diode duty cycle;
exciting a sample in a sample holder using the light emitting diode set to the selected duty cycle while performing a biological assay on the sample;
and
sensing, via the optical sensor, emission from the sample resulting from the biological assay;
wherein the stored duty cycles are calculated duty cycles resulting from an instrument calibration process comprising:
for the plurality of differing sample holder formats of sample holders individually received in the instrument:
measuring output from the optical sensor using a first predetermined duty cycle of the light emitting diode excitation source;
based on the measuring of the output, calculating the calculated duty cycle sufficient to produce a predetermined nominal optical sensor output;
measuring output from the optical sensor using the calculated duty cycle of the light emitting diode excitation source;
and
determining the measured output from the optical sensor using the calculated duty cycle of the light emitting diode is within a predetermined tolerance of the predetermined nominal optical sensor output.

9 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 14/766,725Filed 24 Feb 2014 · us provisional application
Priority: 22 Feb 2013
Published: US 2016/0011115 A114 Jan 2016
Granted: 17 Mar 2020
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification10 codes

G01N 21/6486
Fluorescence; Phosphorescence: measuring fluorescence of biological material, e.g. DNA, RNA, cells
G01N 21/0332
Cuvette constructions: with temperature control
G01N 21/274
Using photo-electric detection ; circuits for computing concentration: calibration, base line adjustment, drift correction
G01N 21/645
Fluorescence; Phosphorescence: specially adapted constructive features of fluorimeters