Thermal Cycling Apparatus and Method

A system for holding at least one of sample and reagent for analysis, the system comprising:

• a pair of parallel covers, at least one of which is light transmissive, of which pair a light transmissive cover forms a top, and of which pair the other forms a bottom;
• a frame disposed between the covers to define, in relation to the covers, an interior volume, the frame and the covers associated with one another to form a case, the case having a sealable opening, such opening when sealed rendering the case substantially tight to liquids;
• and
• a microfluidic array, disposed in the interior volume and removable via the opening, the array including a sheet of material having a pair of opposed surfaces, a thickness, and a plurality of through-holes running through the thickness between the surfaces, the through-holes containing at least one of sample and reagent.

A method of conducting an assay on a plurality of samples, the method comprising:

• providing a microfluidic array, the array including a sheet of material having a pair of opposed surfaces, a thickness, and a plurality of through-holes running through the thickness between the surfaces, each of the through-holes containing one of the samples and at least one reagent providing an optical effect for assay purposes;
• placing the array in a case, the case including
• a pair of parallel covers, at least one of which is light transmissive, of which pair a light transmissive cover forms a top, and of which pair the other forms a bottom;
• a frame disposed between the covers to define, in relation to the covers, an interior volume for receiving the array,
• wherein the case is substantially tight to liquids;
• permitting in each of the through-holes the corresponding sample to react with the at least one reagent therein;
• obtaining a measurement, through the top cover, for each through-hole, of the optical effect associated therewith and using the measurement to provide assay results for the corresponding sample therein.

A thermal cycling device comprising:

• a fluid delivery system for developing a flow of controlled-temperature fluid;
• a case having a fluid-tight cavity for holding a microfluidic array, the array including a sheet of material having a pair of opposed surfaces, a thickness, and a plurality of through-holes running through the thickness between the surfaces;
• and
• a cycling head for holding the case and delivering the flow of fluid over the case.

A method of thermal cycling comprising:

• developing a flow of controlled-temperature fluid;
• holding a microfluidic array in a fluid-tight cavity in a case, the array including a sheet of material having a pair of opposed surfaces, a thickness, and a plurality of through-holes running through the thickness between the surfaces;
• and
• delivering the flow of controlled-temperature fluid over the case.

A method for use in PCR sequencing, the method comprising:

• providing a sample platen having a high-density microfluidic array of through-holes, each through-hole having a hybridization capture probe for capturing a nucleotide sequence of a sample introduced into the through-hole;
• introducing a sample containing nucleic acid to the array so as to form a hybridized array of samples;
• providing a reagent platen having a high-density microfluidic array of through-hole, each through-hole containing a volume of PCR reagent, the reagent platen having a structural geometry that corresponds to the sample platen;
• and
• stacking one platen on top of the other so as to deliver PCR reagent to samples in the hybridized array.

A microfluidic sample array comprising:

• a sheet of material having a pair of opposed surfaces, a thickness, and a plurality of through-holes running through the thickness between the surfaces;
• and
• a biocompatible coating coupled to the walls of at least one through-hole, and
• a nucleic acid component immobilized in the coating.

A method of biochemical assaying, the method comprising:

• providing a sheet of material having a pair of opposed surfaces, a thickness, and a plurality of through-holes running through the thickness between the surfaces;
• mixing a nucleic acid component with a biocompatible material to form a solution;
• and
• coating the solution onto at least one through-hole.

A biochemical assay structure comprising:

• a chip having a microfluidic array of through-holes, individual through-holes being adapted for:
• capture of one or more targets of interest from a liquid sample introduced into the individual through-hole;
• and
• chemical processing of the captured one or more targets.

A method of performing biochemical assays, the method comprising:

• providing a chip having a microfluidic array of through-holes, individual through-holes being adapted for:
• capture of one or more targets of interest from a liquid sample introduced into the individual through-hole, and
• chemical processing of one or more captured targets;
• introducing a sample to the chip so that the individual through-holes capture the one or more targets;
• and
• initiating chemical processing of the captured one or more targets.

A biochemical assay structure comprising:

• a first chip layer having a microfluidic array of through-holes;
• and
• a second chip layer having a microfluidic array of through-holes;
• wherein the first chip layer and the second chip layer are fixedly coupled such that the through-holes of each are aligned.

A method of conducting an assay on a plurality of samples, the method comprising:

• performing an assay at each of a plurality of sample sites in a sample array, each assay providing an optical effect;
• simultaneously illuminating each sample site using one or more colored LEDs;
• and.
• simultaneously imaging each of the sample sites to produce imaging data pertinent to the optical effect of each site.

A system for conducting an assay on a plurality of samples, the system comprising:

• a case having a fluid-tight cavity defining an interior volume;
• a microfluidic array disposed in the interior volume, the array including a sheet of material having a pair of opposed surfaces, a thickness, and a plurality of through-holes running through the thickness between the surfaces;
• and
• a thermal cycler adapted to thermally contact the case.

A system for conducting an assay on a plurality of samples, the system comprising:

• a case having a fluid-tight cavity defining an interior volume;
• a microfluidic array disposed in the interior volume, the array including a sheet of material having a pair of opposed surfaces, a thickness, and a plurality of through-holes running through the thickness between the surfaces;
• an illumination source for simultaneously illuminating each of the through-holes;
• and
• a camera for simultaneously imaging each of the through-holes to produce imaging data.

A system for holding at least one of sample and reagent for analysis, the system comprising:

• a pair of parallel covers, at least one of which is light transmissive, of which pair a light transmissive cover forms a top, and of which pair the other forms a bottom;
• a frame disposed between the covers to define, in relation to the covers, an interior volume, the frame and the covers associated with one another to form a case, the case having a sealable opening, such opening when sealed rendering the case substantially tight to liquids;
• and
• a microfluidic array, disposed in the interior volume and removable via the opening, the array including a sheet of material having a plurality of sample sites, the sample sites containing at least one of sample and reagent.