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US 2014/0234985 A9Published application
Device for stretching a polymer in a fluid sample
AssigneePathoGenetix, Inc.
InventorsRobert H. Meltzer, Joshua W. Griffis
Life of this patent
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Abstract
The invention provides structures and methods that allow polymers of any length, including nucleic acids, to be stretched into a long, linear conformation for further analysis.
Claims21
A device for stretching at least one polymer in a fluid sample, said device comprising:
- an elongation structure, wherein said elongation structure comprises a tapered channel, said tapered channel decreasing in width from a first end to a second end, said tapered channel comprising:
- a first zone having a first tapered shape;
- a second zone having a second tapered shape, wherein the second tapered shape is different than the first tapered shape;
- and
- wherein said at least one polymer, when present, moves along said tapered channel from said first end to said second end and is stretched.
2 more elements
A device for stretching at least one polymer in a fluid sample, said device comprising:
- an elongation structure, wherein said elongation structure comprises a tapered channel, said tapered channel having a width w(x) which decreases from a first end to a second end, the tapered channel comprising:
- a first zone having a first shape;
- a second zone having a second shape, wherein the second shape is different than the first shape;
- and
- a transition which separates the first zone from the second zone;
- wherein the width w(x) of the tapered channel in the first zone is defined by the following equations:
- w
-
- (
- x
- )
- =
- 1
- (
- bx
- +
- c
- )
- 2
- b
- =
- 1
- l
- 1
-
- (
- 1
- w
- 2
- -
- 1
- w
- 1
- )
- c
- =
- 1
- w
- 1
- wherein l1 is the length of the first zone, w1 is the width of the tapered channel at the first end of the tapered channel, and w2 is the width of the tapered channel at the transition;
- wherein the width w(x) of the tapered channel in the second zone is defined by the following equations:
- w
-
- (
- x
- )
- =
- w
- 2
- 1
- +
- x
- a
- a
- =
- l
- 2
- w
- 2
- w
- 3
- -
- 1
- and wherein l2 is the length of the second zone, w2 is the width of the tapered channel at the transition, and w3 is the width of the tapered channel at the second end of the tapered channel.
61 more elements
A method comprising:
- moving a polymer through a tapered channel past at least one detection station, the tapered channel having a constant strain portion,
- detecting an object-dependent impulse that conveys information about structural characteristics of the polymer;
- obtaining an observed trace based on the detected impulse, wherein the observed trace is an intensity versus time trace;
- applying an acceleration correction to the observed trace;
- and
- obtaining a corrected intensity versus distance trace from the application of the acceleration correction to the observed trace.
3 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.