Desiccator system having modular elements
Assignee3M Innovative Properties Company
InventorsCary A. Kipke, Madhusudan Raghavachari, Jeffrey C. Pederson, Bernard A. Gonzalez, Donald L. Melvin
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Abstract
The present invention provides a device, system and method for desiccation of liquid samples. The device includes multiple concentration chambers, each having a gas inlet and a gas vent. Methods of using the device to desiccate multiple liquid samples also are provided. The device may be assembled with a processing device to form a module. Such modules may be assembled to form a system designed, e.g., to provide automated chemical analyses of liquid samples. The system is particularly useful for modular, high-throughput chemical processing, especially in the fields of genomics and proteomics.
Claims58
A desiccation device comprising:
- a body that comprises a plurality of chambers wherein at least one chamber is a desiccation chamber that comprises:
- i) a sidewall that at least partially defines a first volume, a second volume in direct fluid communication with the first volume, and a sample volume in direct fluid communication with the second volume, wherein the second volume separates the first volume from the sample volume;
- ii) at least one gas inlet located in the sidewall of the desiccation chamber and in direct fluid communication with the first volume;
- iii) a gas vent in fluid communication with the first volume;
- and
- iv) a sample opening in fluid communication with the sample volume.
A sample processing module capable of processing a plurality of liquid samples, the module comprising:
- at least one concentrator element comprising:
- a body that comprises a plurality of concentrator chambers, each concentrator chamber comprising:
- i) a sidewall located between generally opposed openings that at least partially defines a first volume,
- ii) at least one gas inlet located in the sidewall and in direct fluid communication with the first volume, and
- iii) a gas vent in fluid communication with the first volume;
- and
- at least one processing element comprising a body that comprises a plurality of processing chambers formed in the body, wherein each processing chamber comprises a sample volume and at least a portion of a second volume;
- wherein the at least one processing element is configured so that when the at least one concentrator element is assembled with the at least one processing element to form the module, one or more processing chambers is in direct fluid communication with one or more concentrator chambers.
The sample processing module of element 14 wherein at least one processing chamber in fluid communication with at least one concentrator chamber forms a desiccation chamber comprising the first volume, the second volume and the sample volume.
A method of concentrating a liquid sample, the method comprising:
- providing a device comprising a plurality of chambers, wherein at least one chamber is a desiccation chamber that comprises:
- i) a sidewall that at least partially defines a first volume, a second volume in direct fluid communication with the first volume, a sample volume in direct fluid communication with the second volume,
- ii) at least one gas inlet located in the sidewall and in direct fluid communication with the first volume and also in fluid communication with a supply of desiccation gas, and
- iii) a gas vent in direct or indirect fluid communication with the first volume;
- providing a liquid sample to two or more desiccation chambers;
- introducing desiccation gas through the gas inlet into the first volume of the two or more desiccation chambers to which a liquid sample has been provided, thereby concentrating the liquid samples;
- and
- removing at least a portion of the desiccation gas through the gas vents of at least a portion of the two or more desiccation chambers to which a liquid sample has been provided;
- wherein at least two liquid samples are concentrated substantially simultaneously.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.