Method and Apparatus for Sampling Macromolecules from a Biological Specimen
AssigneeThe Board of Regents of the University of Oklahoma
InventorsJan Sunner, Iwona Beech, Matthew Kowalski, Kathleen Duncan, Joseph Suflita
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Abstract
Apparatus and methods for laser ablation sampling, electrophoretic extraction from the laser plume, electrophoretic transport to a container, and capture of macromolecules of interest. In certain embodiments, when macromolecules of interest are nucleic acid, the apparatus and methods further provides for nucleic acid amplification and detection in a rapid mobile platform for environmental and clinical identification of pathogens.
Claims20
A method of sampling macromolecules of interest directly from a biological specimen for capture and identification, comprising:
- (a) applying a laser beam of photons to a biological specimen to produce an ablation plume comprising a plume matrix and the macromolecules of interest at least partially isolated from the biological specimen;
- (b) extracting the macromolecules of interest from the plume matrix with an electric field;
- and
- (c) capturing the extracted macromolecules of interest in a container for analysis.
A method of extracting nucleic acids of interest from a biological specimen, said method comprising:
- (a) ablating the biological specimen with a pulsed laser beam to produce an ablation plume comprising the nucleic acids together with associated plume matrix;
- (b) directing the ablation plume with a first electrode towards a second electrode;
- (b) extracting the nucleic acids from the ablation plume with the second electrode;
- (c) focusing the transport lines of extracted nucleic acids through an orifice in the second electrode with a third electrode;
- and
- (d) capturing the extracted nucleic acids in a container suitable for conducting a polymerase chain reaction.
An apparatus for extracting macromolecules from a biological specimen, said apparatus comprising:
- (a) a laser configured to ablate the biological specimen with a pulsed laser beam to produce an ablation plume comprising the macromolecules;
- and
- (b) a first electrode, a second electrode, and a third electrode configured to extract the macromolecules from the ablation plume.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.