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US 2002/0162745 A1Published application
Multi-channel capillary electrophoresis device and method
AssigneeApplera Corporation
InventorsEric S. Nordman, Richard T. Reel
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Embodiments of a device and method are described which provide for control over the distortion of a sample zone upon exiting an electrophoresis separation channel. According to the teachings herein (i) the downstream regions of the channels, near the outlet ends, and/or (ii) the detection chamber, is/are configured so that distortion of one or more sample zones passing from the channels into and across the detection chamber can be controlled (e.g., reduced) in a fashion affording enhanced detectability. In certain embodiments, the lumens along the end regions of the separation channels progressively expand.
Claims46
An analyte separation device, comprising:
- a plurality of separation channels, each channel comprising an inlet end and an outlet end;
- a detection chamber proximate the outlet ends;
- an excitation-beam pathway extending through at least a portion of said detection chamber, said pathway being located on a side of the outlet ends opposite the inlet ends and extending along a plane defined by said channels;
- wherein two or more of said channels have a variation region, in which the channel cross-sectional area varies, in the vicinity of said outlet end.
1 more element
An analyte separation device, comprising:
- a plurality of separation channels, each channel comprising an inlet end and an outlet end;
- a detection chamber proximate the outlet ends;
- an excitation-beam pathway extending through at least a portion of said detection chamber, said pathway being located on a side of the outlet ends opposite the inlet ends and extending along a plane defined by said channels;
- barrier structure interposed between adjacent pairs of said channels and defining, at least in part, sidewalls bounding at least a portion of such channels;
- said barrier structure having an end region in the vicinity of said terminal outlets that is tapered.
2 more elements
An analyte separation device, comprising:
- a plurality of separation channels, each channel comprising an inlet end and an outlet end;
- a detection chamber proximate the outlet ends;
- an excitation-beam pathway extending through at least a portion of said detection chamber, said pathway being located on a side of the outlet ends opposite the inlet ends and extending along a plane defined by said channels;
- wherein said detection chamber has a cross-sectional area, taken along a plane normal to said plane defined by said channels, within a range of from 50% to 400% of the sum of the cross-sectional areas of all of the channels, wherein the channel cross-sectional area employed in calculating such sum is the cross-sectional area predominating along most of the channel length.
1 more element
An analyte separation device, comprising:
- a plurality of separation channels, each channel comprising an inlet end and an outlet end;
- a detection chamber proximate the outlet ends;
- an excitation-beam pathway extending through at least a portion of said detection chamber, said pathway being located on a side of the outlet ends opposite the inlet ends and extending along a plane defined by said channels;
- a detector disposed to simultaneously detect fluorescence emitted from a plurality of spaced-apart observation regions within said detection chamber, each of said observation regions being located whereat said excitation-beam pathway intersects an axial extension of a respective one of said channels;
- and
- a plurality of crosstalk zones, each crosstalk zone being located midway between a respective pair of immediately adjacent observation regions;
- wherein said detector is configured to disregard fluorescence emitted from any such crosstalk zone.
4 more elements
A method for reducing distortion of a sample zone upon exiting an electrophoretic channel containing a separation medium, comprising:
- (a) loading a sample at an inlet end of said channel;
- (b) applying an electric field along the channel thereby causing the sample to migrate through the medium and resolve into one or more sample zones;
- (c) changing the cross-sectional area of each sample zone as the zone passes along the vicinity of an outlet end of said channel, said cross-sectional area taken along a plane perpendicular to the direction of sample zone travel;
- (d) ejecting the sample zone from the channel via the outlet end;
- and
- (e) analyzing the sample zone for the presence of one or more analytes of interest.
3 more elements
A method for reducing distortion of sample zones upon exiting electrophoretic channels containing a separation medium, comprising:
- (a) loading a plurality of separation channels with respective samples;
- (b) applying an electric field along the channels thereby causing the samples to migrate through the medium and resolve into one or more sample zones;
- (c) transferring each sample zone from its respective channel into a detection zone having a cross-sectional area, taken along a plane perpendicular to the direction of sample zone travel, within a range of from 50% to 400% of the sum of the cross-sectional areas of all of the channels.
A method for analyzing a plurality of sample zones upon exiting electrophoretic channels containing a separation medium, comprising:
- (a) directing an excitation beam along a beam pathway which is downstream of said channels and which extends along a plane defined by said channels;
- (b) simultaneously detecting for fluorescence emitted from a plurality of spaced-apart observation regions, each of said observation regions being located whereat said excitation-beam pathway intersects an axial extension of a respective one of said channels;
- and
- (c) disregarding fluorescence emitted from any one or more of a plurality of crosstalk zones, wherein each crosstalk zone is located midway between a respective pair of immediately adjacent observation regions.
1 more element
An analyte separation device including a plurality of separation channels and an post-channel detection chamber, comprising:
- (a) means for causing samples loaded at an inlet end of said device to migrate through a medium held in said channels, to thereby resolve said samples into one or more sample zones;
- (b) means for changing the cross-sectional area of each sample zone as the sample zone passes along the vicinity of an outlet end of a respective one of said channels, said cross-sectional area taken along a plane perpendicular to the direction of sample zone migration;
- and
- (c) means for interrogating sample zones in said detection chamber for the presence of one or more analytes of interest.
1 more element
An analyte separation device, comprising:
- (i) an array of elongate channels through which one or more samples are intended to migrate under the influence of a motive force along the channels, with each channel including a sample-loading region and a terminal outlet downstream of the sample-loading region;
- (ii) a detection chamber downstream of the channel outlets, with each of the outlets communicating a respective channel with the detection chamber;
- and wherein each of the channels defines in part a sample-migration pathway extending longitudinally along such channel, passing through a respective outlet and traversing at least a portion of the detection chamber;
- and
- (iii) an unobstructed, excitation-beam pathway extending through the detection chamber, along which an excitation beam of light may be directed so as to simultaneously intersect, in the detection chamber, plural sample-migration pathways;
- and wherein two or more of the channels have a flow cross-sectional area that varies along a region in the vicinity of a respective terminal outlet.
3 more elements
An analyte separation device, comprising:
- a plurality of separation channels, each channel comprising an inlet end and an outlet end;
- a detection zone proximate the outlet ends;
- at least one excitation-beam pathway extending through at least a portion of said detection zone;
- and
- a beam source for directing an excitation beam along said pathway;
- wherein two or more of said channels have a variation region, in which the channel cross-sectional area varies, in the vicinity of said outlet end.
3 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.