Acoustic ejection of fluids from a plurality of reservoirs
AssigneePicoliter Inc.
InventorsRichard N. Ellson, James K. Foote, Mitchell W. Mutz
Life of this patent
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Abstract
The present invention provides a method and device for the acoustic ejection of fluid droplets from each of a plurality of fluid-containing reservoirs. The droplets are ejected toward sites on a substrate surface for deposition thereon. The device is comprised of: a plurality of reservoirs each adapted to contain a fluid; an ejector comprising a means for generating acoustic radiation and a means for focusing the generated acoustic radiation so as to eject fluid droplets from the reservoir fluids; and a means for positioning the ejector in acoustically coupled relationship to each of the reservoirs. The invention is useful in a number of contexts, particularly in the preparation of biomolecular arrays.
Claims62
A device for acoustically ejecting a droplet of fluid from each of a plurality of fluid reservoirs, comprising:
- a plurality of reservoirs each adapted to contain a fluid, wherein the distance between the centers of any two adjacent reservoirs is less than about 1 centimeter;
- an acoustic ejector comprising an acoustic radiation generator for generating acoustic radiation and a focusing means for focusing the acoustic radiation generated;
- and
- a means for positioning the acoustic ejector in acoustic coupling relationship to each of the reservoirs.
A device for acoustically ejecting a droplet of fluid from each of a plurality of fluid reservoirs, comprising:
- a plurality of reservoirs each adapted to contain a fluid, wherein at least one reservoir is adapted to contain no more than about 100 nanoliters of fluid;
- an acoustic ejector comprising an acoustic radiation generator for generating acoustic radiation and a focusing means for focusing the acoustic radiation generated;
- and
- a means for positioning the acoustic ejector in acoustic coupling relationship to each of the reservoirs.
A method for preparing an array of chemical entities attached to the surface of a substrate, the method comprising:
- (a) acoustically coupling a first reservoir containing a first chemical entity in a first fluid to an ejector that produces acoustic radiation;
- (b) activating the ejector to generate acoustic radiation having a focal point sufficiently near the surface of the first fluid so as to eject a droplet thereof toward a first site on the substrate surface;
- (c) acoustically coupling a second reservoir containing a second chemical entity in a second fluid to the ejector;
- (d) activating the ejector as in step (b) to eject a droplet of the second fluid from the second reservoir toward a second site on the substrate surface;
- and
- (e) repeating steps (c) and (d) with additional reservoirs each containing a chemical entity in a fluid until a droplet has been ejected from each reservoir, wherein the time period between activating steps is no longer than about 1 second,
- wherein steps (b) and (d) result in attachment of the chemical entity in each droplet to the surface of the substrate.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.