Diagnostic system employing a unitary substrate to immobilize microspheres

Abstract

In a diagnostic apparatus system, a one piece porous substrate is located in a container. The substrate serves both to extract an antigen in or on a top layer with the remainder of the substrate serving as a reservoir. The pores in the top surface of the substrate are microscopic for entrapment of microspheres carrying antibodies. A target antigen in a test sample attaches to the antibodies when the test sample is poured through the top layer. The pores in all but the top layer of the substrate have a much greater pore size to define the reservoir portion of the substrate. The invention also includes a method of casting a microporous matrix in surfaces of a plurality of macroporous slugs. The method includes the steps of selecting a casting apparatus that defines openings for receiving the slugs and wells that are adjacent to the openings, positioning the slugs in the openings with the surfaces facing upward, the surfaces being positioned adjacent to the wells, dispensing a casting solution into the wells so that the solution contacts the surfaces, and allowing at least a portion of the solution to wick into the slugs and harden so that the microporous matrix is cast in the surfaces. The invention also includes an apparatus for practicing the method.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.