Thermophoretic concentration of reactants for reaction acceleration
AssigneeWaters Technologies Corporation
InventorLindsay Morrison
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Abstract
The present disclosure discusses a device and method for improving the reaction rate of enzymatic modification of biopolymers. A thermophoretic device is used to increase the rate of enzymatic reactions with biopolymers by creating a temperature gradient using a heating element and a cooling element. The use of a temperature gradient within a cavity in the thermophoretic device concentrates the reacts along an interior surface of the device, increasing the reaction rate.
Claims31
A thermophoretic device comprising:
- a heating element;
- a cooling element;
- wherein the heating element and the cooling element together define a cavity between the heating element and the cooling element;
- and
- a temperature controller coupled to the heating element and the cooling element, wherein the temperature controller is configured to regulate the temperature of the heating element and the cooling element, such that the heating element is kept at a higher temperature than the cooling element.
A method of enzymatic modification of a biopolymer comprising:
- forming a mixture of the biopolymer with an enzyme that modifies at least a portion of the biopolymer;
- adding the mixture to a thermophoretic device comprising a heating element and a cooling element;
- increasing the temperature of the heating element to a temperature of about 30° C. to about 40° C.;
- and
- decreasing the temperature of the cooling element to a temperature of about 5° C. to about 15° C.
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Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.