Patent EP0318255A2 successfully refreshed from Google Patents.
EP0318255A2
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EP
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Cuvette
Assignee: Eastman Kodak Co
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Filing: 1988-11-23
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Granted: —
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Expires: 2008-11-23
Abstract
Abstract There is disclosed a thermal cycling cuvette (30, 30a, 30b, 30e, 30f, 30g) constructed with a chamber (32, 32a, 32b, 32c, 32d, 32e, 32f, 32g) having an improved sample fluid thermal time constant. The fluid surface-to-volume ratio, and the cuvette thermal path length and thermal resistance of at least one of the walls that provides a major surface of contact (34, 34a, 34b, 34e, or 164, 34f, or 164f, 34g), are selected to provide such a thermal time constant that is no greater than about 10 seconds for a cuvette volume no greater than about 200 µl. Also included in the cuvette are means (60, 60a, 60b, 60c, 60d, 60e, 60f, 60g) permitting the introduction and removal of liquid into and from the cuvette. A preferred construction permits ready and substantially complete removal of the liquid. In addition, a method for the amplification of nucleic acid sequences is described.
Inventors
- 👤 Richard Lewis C/O Eastman Kodak Company Columbus
- 👤 Jeffrey Lawrence Helfer
- 👤 Johannes Jacobus Porte
- 👤 Jeffrey Allen Wellman
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
EP
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-04 23:23
CPC Classifications
C; C12; C12Q; C12Q1/00; C12Q1/68; C12Q1/6813; C12Q1/6834; B; B01; B01J; B01J19/00; B01J19/0046; B01L; B01L3/00; B01L3/50; B01L3/502; B01L7/00; B01L7/52; C12Q1/6844; C12Q1/686; B01L2400/00; B01L2400/06; B01L2400/0622; B01L2400/0633; B01L2400/0644
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 32
Claim 1
Independent Claim
171 words
A thermal cycling cuvette for controlled reaction of components of a liquid involving cycling through a temperature range of at least 35°C, said cuvette having at least one liquid-confining chamber defined by two spaced-apart opposing walls each providing a major surface of contact, side walls connecting said two opposing walls, and means permitting the introduction of liquid into, and the removal of such liquid from, said chamber; characterised in that said opposing walls and said side walls are dimensioned to provide a) a spacing between said opposing walls of no less than 0.5 mm and b) a predetermined surface-to-volume ratio of said chamber, at least one of said opposing walls being provided with a predetermined thermal path length and thermal resistance such that said ratio, path length and thermal resistance are effective to provide, for pure water contained within said chamber in contact with said opposing walls, a thermal time constant for such water that is no greater than 10 seconds, for a liquid volume of no more than 200 µl.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
171 words
A thermal cycling cuvette for controlled reaction of components of a liquid involving cycling through a temperature range of at least 35°C, said cuvette having at least one liquid-confining chamber defined by two spaced-apart opposing walls each providing a major surface of contact, side walls connecting said two opposing walls, and means permitting the introduction of liquid into, and the removal of such liquid from, said chamber; characterised in that said opposing walls and said side walls are dimensioned to provide a) a spacing between said opposing walls of no less than 0.5 mm and b) a predetermined surface-to-volume ratio of said chamber, at least one of said opposing walls being provided with a predetermined thermal path length and thermal resistance such that said ratio, path length and thermal resistance are effective to provide, for pure water contained within said chamber in contact with said opposing walls, a thermal time constant for such water that is no greater than 10 seconds, for a liquid volume of no more than 200 µl.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
131 words
A thermal cycling cuvette for controlled reaction of components of a liquid involving cycling through a temperature range of at least 35°C, said cuvette having at least one liquid-confining chamber defined by two spaced-apart opposing walls, side walls connecting said two opposing walls, and means permitting the introduction and removal of such liquid, into and from said chamber, characterised in that said opposing walls and said side walls are dimensioned to provide said chamber with an effective temperature controlled surface-to-volume ratio that is between 25.6 cm⁻¹ (65 in⁻¹) and 51 cm⁻¹ (130 in⁻¹) for a fill volume of between 100 and 200 µl, and at least one of said opposing walls has a thermal path length of no more than 0.3 mm and a thermal resistance of no more than 0.01°C/watt.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
131 words
A thermal cycling cuvette for controlled reaction of components of a liquid involving cycling through a temperature range of at least 35°C, said cuvette having at least one liquid-confining chamber defined by two spaced-apart opposing walls, side walls connecting said two opposing walls, and means permitting the introduction and removal of such liquid, into and from said chamber, characterised in that said opposing walls and said side walls are dimensioned to provide said chamber with an effective temperature controlled surface-to-volume ratio that is between 25.6 cm⁻¹ (65 in⁻¹) and 51 cm⁻¹ (130 in⁻¹) for a fill volume of between 100 and 200 µl, and at least one of said opposing walls has a thermal path length of no more than 0.3 mm and a thermal resistance of no more than 0.01°C/watt.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
38 words
A cuvette as defined in claim 2, wherein said opposing walls and said side walls are spaced so that water can be effectively withdrawn in no longer than 10 seconds with a capillary number of less than 0.05.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
23 words
A cuvette as defined in Claim 3, wherein said distance of spacing of said opposing walls is from 0.5 mm to 2.5 mm.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
30 words
A cuvette as defined in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the structural component of at least one of said opposing walls comprises aluminum no thicker than 0.15 mm.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
35 words
A cuvette as defined in any one of the preceding claims, wherein at least one entire surface of one of said opposing walls of said chamber has a thermal resistance of no more than 0.01°C/watt.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
25 words
A cuvette as defined in any one of the preceding claims, and further including a reagent coated over at least one of said opposing walls.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
23 words
A cuvette as defined in claim 7, wherein said one opposing wall is opposite to said opposing wall having said thermal path length.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
22 words
A cuvette as defined in any one of the preceding claims, wherein said permitting means includes means defining a liquid access aperture.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
40 words
A cuvette as defined in claim 9, and further including an opening constructed to be larger than said liquid access aperture, to receive closure means for sealing said larger opening, and wherein said aperture is located within said larger opening.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
16 words
A cuvette as defined in claim 10, and further including an air vent for said chamber.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
19 words
A cuvette as defined in claim 11, wherein said air vent terminates at a location within said larger opening.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
23 words
A cuvette as defined in claim 9, wherein said liquid access aperture is configured to removably mate with a pipette or pipette tip.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
47 words
A cuvette as defined in any one of the preceding claims, wherein said permitting means includes a liquid access aperture, an air vent, and a movable valve for selectively sealing off fluid flow between a) each of said access aperture and air vent, and b) said chamber.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
83 words
A cuvette for controlled reaction of components of a liquid, said cuvette having at least one liquid-confining chamber defined by two spaced-apart opposing walls, side walls connecting said two opposing walls, means permitting the introduction and removal of liquid into and out of said chamber; characterised in that said permitting means includes a liquid access aperture, an air vent, and a movable valve for selectively sealing off fluid flow between a) each of said access aperture and air vent, and b) said chamber.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
83 words
A cuvette for controlled reaction of components of a liquid, said cuvette having at least one liquid-confining chamber defined by two spaced-apart opposing walls, side walls connecting said two opposing walls, means permitting the introduction and removal of liquid into and out of said chamber; characterised in that said permitting means includes a liquid access aperture, an air vent, and a movable valve for selectively sealing off fluid flow between a) each of said access aperture and air vent, and b) said chamber.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
65 words
A cuvette as defined in claim 14 or 15, wherein a portion of said valve is rotatably mounted in the cuvette, and further including means for rotating said valve portion about an axis, said access aperture and said air vent being rotationally oriented about said axis to cooperate with rotation of said valve portion to open and close said access aperture and said air vent.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
42 words
A cuvette as defined in claim 16, wherein said valve is translatably mounted within the cuvette, and further including biasing means for biasing said valve to a closed position wherein said access aperture and said vent are fluidly disconnected from said chamber.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
97 words
A cuvette as defined in any one of the preceding claims, and further including a second liquid-confining chamber defined by two spaced-apart opposing walls with a relatively high exposed surface-to-thickness ratio, side walls connecting said second chamber two opposing walls, means permitting the introduction of liquid into said second chamber from said first chamber, and means permitting the removal of such liquid out of said second chamber; said chambers further providing a major plane of liquid containment, the major plane of one of said chambers being disposed above the major plane of the other of said chambers.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
119 words
A cuvette for controlled reaction of components of a liquid, said cuvette having first and second liquid confining chambers for conducting reactions, each defined by two spaced-apart opposing walls, side walls connecting respective ones of said two opposing walls, and means permitting the introduction and removal of such liquid into and from each of said chambers, each of said chambers providing a major plane of liquid containment; characterised in that said chambers are disposed such that said major plane of one of said chambers lies disposed above the major plane of the other of said chambers; so that the length and/or width of said cuvette is reduced compared to a comparable cuvette in which said major planes are coplanar.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
119 words
A cuvette for controlled reaction of components of a liquid, said cuvette having first and second liquid confining chambers for conducting reactions, each defined by two spaced-apart opposing walls, side walls connecting respective ones of said two opposing walls, and means permitting the introduction and removal of such liquid into and from each of said chambers, each of said chambers providing a major plane of liquid containment; characterised in that said chambers are disposed such that said major plane of one of said chambers lies disposed above the major plane of the other of said chambers; so that the length and/or width of said cuvette is reduced compared to a comparable cuvette in which said major planes are coplanar.
Claim 24
Dependent Claim
34 words
A cuvette as defined in claim 18 or 19, and further including a third liquid-confining chamber fluidly connected to said second chamber, and a liquid-permeable membrane separating said third chamber from said second chamber.
Claim 25
Dependent Claim
17 words
A cuvette as defined in claim 20, and further including a liquid-absorbing material in said third chamber.
Claim 26
Dependent Claim
28 words
A cuvette as defined in claim 20 or 21, and further including on said membrane, means for capturing a proteinaceous material capable of bonding to a DNA strand.
Claim 27
Dependent Claim
28 words
A cuvette as defined in claim 22, wherein said capturing means includes either avidin or biotin, said proteinaceous material having bonded thereto, the other of the avidin/biotin pair.
Claim 28
Dependent Claim
26 words
A cuvette as defined in any one of the preceding claims, wherein one of said walls is transparent and is recessed to protect it from scratches.
Claim 29
Independent Claim
229 words
A method of amplifying a nucleic acid sequence comprising the steps of treating a mixture of a strand of nucleic acid with a molar excess of an oligonucleotide primer at a temperature effective to attach said primer to said strand, heating said bound primer and strand in the presence of an extension enzyme to extend the primer to form a complementary strand, heating said bound complementary strand and said strand of nucleic acid at a temperature that causes them to separate into two template strands, and then repeating each of the previous steps on said template strands to produce many numbers of amplified strands; characterised by the steps of: adding to said mixture, detection and capture probes comprising a complementary sequence of nucleotides that bond to an oligonucleotide sequence of choice, said probes further including either a signal moiety capable of reacting to produce a detectable signal, or a capture moiety that will immobilize a strand bonded to the probe, or both; reacting said probes with said amplified strands to bind the probes to said amplified strands; transferring a mixture containing the bound probes and strands to a separation medium; and separating strands bearing capture probes on them from those lacking such probes, by passing the mixture through a filter containing a substance that binds with said capture moiety but which allows passage of strands lacking said capture moiety.
Claim 30
Independent Claim
229 words
A method of amplifying a nucleic acid sequence comprising the steps of treating a mixture of a strand of nucleic acid with a molar excess of an oligonucleotide primer at a temperature effective to attach said primer to said strand, heating said bound primer and strand in the presence of an extension enzyme to extend the primer to form a complementary strand, heating said bound complementary strand and said strand of nucleic acid at a temperature that causes them to separate into two template strands, and then repeating each of the previous steps on said template strands to produce many numbers of amplified strands; characterised by the steps of: adding to said mixture, detection and capture probes comprising a complementary sequence of nucleotides that bond to an oligonucleotide sequence of choice, said probes further including either a signal moiety capable of reacting to produce a detectable signal, or a capture moiety that will immobilize a strand bonded to the probe, or both; reacting said probes with said amplified strands to bind the probes to said amplified strands; transferring a mixture containing the bound probes and strands to a separation medium; and separating strands bearing capture probes on them from those lacking such probes, by passing the mixture through a filter containing a substance that binds with said capture moiety but which allows passage of strands lacking said capture moiety.
Claim 31
Dependent Claim
53 words
A method as defined in claim 25, and further including the step of adding to the filter to which said capture moieties and strands are bound, a substance that reacts with said signal moiety; whereby the presence of the oligonucleotide sequence of choice is indicated by the signal generated by said signal moiety.
Claim 32
Dependent Claim
21 words
A method as defined in claim 25 or 26, wherein said detection probes are not the same as said capture probes.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
No citation records indexed.
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