US 5,073,504 A · Apparatus and method for immunohistochemical staining

Abstract

A device and method for automating immunohistochemical staining of biological material on glass slides is presented. The slides are placed on the base with the tissue section facing upwards. A "chamber" consisting of a rectangular plastic box with a hinged overhead door is clamped directly over the tissue section. A rubber gasket seals the chamber--slide interface. Reagents are dropped on to the tissue section by means of the hinged overhead plastic door. When the door is closed, the chamber is sufficiently sealed so as to prevent evaporation. Washing of the tissue section is accomplished by the addition and aspiraton of buffer through ports in the chamber. The ports are connected via flexible tubing to a manifold. Because the wash steps are performed in tandem and do not require manual manipulation of slides, a significant time savings is realized. A mesh may be placed between reagents and the surface of the slide to spread a reagent over the surface of the slide.

Claims41

Dependent claims

Apparatus for the application of a solution to and removal of the solution from a slide comprising:

a supporting surface which is capable of providing mechanical support to a slide;
a transparent slide on the supporting surface, the slide carrying a specimen;
a chamber having a wall delimiting a first aperture, said chamber being attached to said supporting surface;
and
means for apposing said chamber to a surface of said transparent slide without disengaging said chamber from said supporting surface and for moving said chamber from the surface of said transparent slide without disengaging said chamber from said supporting surface.

2 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Apparatus and method for immunohistochemical staining

Life of this patent

Apparatus and method for immunohistochemical staining

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims41