US4276048A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Miniature reaction container and a method and apparatus for introducing micro volumes of liquid to such a container
Assignee: Dynatech AG
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Filing: 1979-06-14
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Granted: 1981-06-30
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Expires: 1999-06-14
Abstract
Abstract A miniature reaction container for conducting reactions with precise micro-liter volumes of liquid reactants, reagents and samples for the purposes of enzyme assay procedures, comprises a tubular reaction chamber made from a transparent wettable plastics material and an inlet tube made from a transparent non-wettable material, such as Teflon. Both the chamber and the inlet tube may be capillary tubes and the volume of the chamber should not exceed 30 μl. For the purposes of a particular assay procedure, the chamber may be pretreated so as to have a reactant adhered or chemically bonded to its inside surface. With a plurality of such reaction containers, a multiplicity of reaction mixtures may be prepared and incubated simultaneously. To this end, the containers, which may or may not have been pretreated with reactant, are mounted in a slidable assembly together with syringes. The needles of the syringes are connected to the reaction chambers and their plungers are ganged together so as to be movable by the mechanism simultaneously to draw a precisely metered micro-volume of liquid into the inlet tube of each container. By dipping the inlet tubes successively into different liquids and actuating the syringes, coherent threads of these liquids are formed in the inlet tubes and subsequently drawn into the reaction chambers to produce reaction mixtures. These reaction mixtures may be incubated within the containers before being expressed therefrom and assayed, for example, by fluorimetry.
Inventors
- 👤 David H. Leaback
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-29 13:21
CPC Classifications
B; B01; B01L; B01L3/00; B01L3/02; B01L3/021; B01L3/0217; B01L3/022; B01J; B01J19/00; B01J19/0093; G; G01; G01N; G01N35/00; G01N2035/00178; G01N2035/00237; Y; Y10; Y10T; Y10T436/00; Y10T436/25; Y10T436/2575
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 9
Claim 1
Independent Claim
172 words
A method of conducting a chemical reaction with micro volumes of liquids, comprising the steps of: (a) utilizing a reaction container including a tubular reaction chamber having an inlet tube at one end of said chamber substantially coaxial therewith, said inlet tube being of smaller diameter than said chamber, being in the nature of a capillary tube and being made from non-wettable material, (b) successively dipping said inlet tube of said container into a plurality of liquids, (c) at each dipping step, applying suction to the end of said reaction chamber opposite said inlet tube to suck a precise micro volume of each said liquid into said inlet tube and form successive coherent threads of said liquids therein, (d) removing said inlet tube from the last one of said liquids sucked into said inlet tube, and (e) applying further suction to said reaction chamber in at least one stage to control successive introduction of said threads of liquid into said reaction chamber and consequent mixing of said liquids within said reaction chamber.
Claim 2
Independent Claim
172 words
A method of conducting a chemical reaction with micro volumes of liquids, comprising the steps of: (a) utilizing a reaction container including a tubular reaction chamber having an inlet tube at one end of said chamber substantially coaxial therewith, said inlet tube being of smaller diameter than said chamber, being in the nature of a capillary tube and being made from non-wettable material, (b) successively dipping said inlet tube of said container into a plurality of liquids, (c) at each dipping step, applying suction to the end of said reaction chamber opposite said inlet tube to suck a precise micro volume of each said liquid into said inlet tube and form successive coherent threads of said liquids therein, (d) removing said inlet tube from the last one of said liquids sucked into said inlet tube, and (e) applying further suction to said reaction chamber in at least one stage to control successive introduction of said threads of liquid into said reaction chamber and consequent mixing of said liquids within said reaction chamber.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
32 words
A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein said reaction container is pre-treated by adhering at least one reactant for conducting a specified reaction to the inside surface of said reaction chamber.
Claim 4
Independent Claim
193 words
A method of simultaneously conducting a multiplicity of chemical reactions with micro volumes of liquids, comprising the steps of: (a) disposing a multiplicity of reaction containers in substantially upright positions in a predetermined array, each said container including a tubular reaction chamber having an inlet tube at one end of said chamber substantially coaxial therewith, said inlet tube being of smaller diameter than said chamber, being in the nature of a capillary tube and being made from non-wettable material, (b) simultaneously dipping said inlet tubes of said containers successively into a plurality of liquids, (c) at each dipping step, simultaneously applying suction to the ends of the said reaction chambers opposite their inlet tubes to suck precise micro volumes of each said liquid into said inlet tubes and form successive coherent threads of said liquids in said inlet tubes, (d) simultaneously removing said inlet tubes from the last one of said liquids sucked into said inlet tubes, and (e) simultaneously applying further suction to said reaction chambers in at least one stage to control successive introduction of said threads into said reaction chambers and consequent mixing of said liquids within said reaction chambers.
Claim 5
Independent Claim
193 words
A method of simultaneously conducting a multiplicity of chemical reactions with micro volumes of liquids, comprising the steps of: (a) disposing a multiplicity of reaction containers in substantially upright positions in a predetermined array, each said container including a tubular reaction chamber having an inlet tube at one end of said chamber substantially coaxial therewith, said inlet tube being of smaller diameter than said chamber, being in the nature of a capillary tube and being made from non-wettable material, (b) simultaneously dipping said inlet tubes of said containers successively into a plurality of liquids, (c) at each dipping step, simultaneously applying suction to the ends of the said reaction chambers opposite their inlet tubes to suck precise micro volumes of each said liquid into said inlet tubes and form successive coherent threads of said liquids in said inlet tubes, (d) simultaneously removing said inlet tubes from the last one of said liquids sucked into said inlet tubes, and (e) simultaneously applying further suction to said reaction chambers in at least one stage to control successive introduction of said threads into said reaction chambers and consequent mixing of said liquids within said reaction chambers.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
28 words
A method as claimed in claim 3, wherein said reaction containers are pre-treated by adhering reactants for conducting specified reactions to the inside surfaces of said reaction chambers.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
57 words
A method as claimed in claim 3, wherein each of said reaction containers has at least two reaction zones, the reaction mixture produced in a first zone adjacent said inlet tube is sucked as a coherent thread of liquid from said first zone into a second zone, and a second reaction is conducted in said second zone.
Claim 8
Independent Claim
236 words
A method of simultaneously conducting a multiplicity of chemical reactions with micro volumes of liquids, comprising the steps of: (a) disposing a multiplicity of reaction containers in substantially upright positions in a predetermined array, each said container including a tubular reaction chamber having an inlet tube at one end of said chamber substantially coaxial therewith, said inlet tube being of smaller diameter than said chamber, being in the nature of a capillary tube and being made from non-wettable material, (b) simultaneously dipping said inlet tubes of said containers successively into a plurality of liquids, (c) at each dipping step, simultaneously applying suction to the ends of said reaction chambers opposite their inlet tubes to suck precise micro volumes of each said liquid into said inlet tubes and form successive coherent threads of said liquids in said inlet tubes, (d) simultaneously removing said inlet tubes from the last one of said liquids sucked into said inlet tubes, (e) simultaneously applying further suction to said reaction chambers in at least one stage to control successive introduction of said threads of liquids into said reaction chambers and consequent mixing of said liquids within said reaction chambers, (f) sealing said inlet tubes and the opposite ends of said containers, incubating the resulting mixtues within said containers, (h) breaking said seals of said inlet tubes and expressing the incubated mixtures from said containers into receptacles, and (i) assaying said incubated mixtures.
Claim 9
Independent Claim
236 words
A method of simultaneously conducting a multiplicity of chemical reactions with micro volumes of liquids, comprising the steps of: (a) disposing a multiplicity of reaction containers in substantially upright positions in a predetermined array, each said container including a tubular reaction chamber having an inlet tube at one end of said chamber substantially coaxial therewith, said inlet tube being of smaller diameter than said chamber, being in the nature of a capillary tube and being made from non-wettable material, (b) simultaneously dipping said inlet tubes of said containers successively into a plurality of liquids, (c) at each dipping step, simultaneously applying suction to the ends of said reaction chambers opposite their inlet tubes to suck precise micro volumes of each said liquid into said inlet tubes and form successive coherent threads of said liquids in said inlet tubes, (d) simultaneously removing said inlet tubes from the last one of said liquids sucked into said inlet tubes, (e) simultaneously applying further suction to said reaction chambers in at least one stage to control successive introduction of said threads of liquids into said reaction chambers and consequent mixing of said liquids within said reaction chambers, (f) sealing said inlet tubes and the opposite ends of said containers, incubating the resulting mixtues within said containers, (h) breaking said seals of said inlet tubes and expressing the incubated mixtures from said containers into receptacles, and (i) assaying said incubated mixtures.
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USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1984-06-29 | 1984-12-29 | 1985-06-30 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 1988-06-29 | 1988-12-29 | 1989-06-30 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 1992-06-29 | 1992-12-29 | 1993-06-30 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |