Chemistry: molecular biology and microbiology – Apparatus – Bioreactor
Reexamination Certificate
1999-11-23
2001-05-29
Beisner, William H. (Department: 1744)
Chemistry: molecular biology and microbiology
Apparatus
Bioreactor
C435S809000, C435S297200, C435S288400, C422S105000, C422S105000, C165S104280
Reexamination Certificate
active
06238913
ABSTRACT:
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates to an apparatus for heating and cooling deep well pharmaceutical microplates, and more particularly to an apparatus for heating and cooling deep well microplates that provides for more uniform heating both between wells and within respective wells.
RELATED ART
Pharmaceutical laboratory technicians are familiar with devices that are intended to heat and cool deep well microplates, and the relative inadequacy of known devices to provide for uniform temperature from top to bottom of each deep well as well as uniform temperature among a matrix of deep wells in a pharmaceutical deep well microplate. For example, prior art heating and cooling devices known to applicant tend to concentrate heat at the bottom of the wells of a deep well microplate as well as within the central wells (which are warmer than the outside wells). Also, prior art devices known to applicant for heating and cooling pharmaceutical deep well microplates tend to require an extended period of time to bring the temperature of the wells of the deep well microplate up to a desired temperature. This inherent feature of prior art heating and cooling devices for deep well pharmaceutical microplates is problematic for pharmaceutical laboratory technicians in many laboratory testing situations.
Therefore, applicant's apparatus for heating and cooling deep well pharmaceutical microplates is believed to meet a long-felt need for a heating and cooling apparatus for deep well microplates which overcomes (1) the lack of temperature uniformity and (2) the lack of rapid warm-up of devices presently utilized in the art. The simple-to-use and highly reliable apparatus for heating and cooling deep well pharmaceutical microplates described and claimed hereinbelow meets these and other long-felt needs known to those skilled in the art.
DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION
In accordance with the present invention, applicant provides an apparatus for modulating the temperature of a microplate of the type having an open bottom with interstices defined therewithin between the wells of the microplate. The apparatus is adapted for being fluidly connected with a conventional heater/cooler water pump such as the LAUDA BRINKMANN Model RC20. The apparatus comprises a housing with a bottom, sides, and an open top. A divider plate extends transversely through a medial portion of the housing between the top and bottom thereof so as to create a bottom closed chamber therebeneath and an upper chamber thereabove. A plurality of vertically upwardly extending tubes are provided wherein the bottom end of each of the tubes is mounted within the divider plate and the top end of each of the tubes extends upwardly from the divider plate and through the open top of the housing. A support surface is provided around a portion of the perimeter of the upper chamber for supporting a pharmaceutical microplate in upright position thereon wherein the plurality of upwardly extending tubes are oriented so as to be nestingly received within the interstices defined between the wells of the microplate. In this manner heated or cooled fluid introduced from a heater/cooler water pump and into the upper chamber of the housing will rise up around the wells of a pharmaceutical microplate positioned in the upper chamber of the apparatus until the fluid reaches the level of the tubes. The fluid will then flow downwardly through the tubes into the bottom chamber of the housing and out therefrom to the heater/cooler water pump.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus for heating and cooling deep well pharmaceutical microplates for use in combination with a heater/cooler water pump to provide uniform temperature from top to bottom of each deep well as well as among the entire matrix of deep wells of the microplate.
It is another object of the present invention to provide an apparatus for heating and cooling deep well pharmaceutical microplates for use in fluid connection with a heater/cooler water pump which provides for relatively rapid heating of the deep wells to a desired temperature due to inherently rapid heat transfer performance of the apparatus.
Some of the objects of the invention having been stated hereinabove, other objects will become evident as the description proceeds, when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings as best described hereinbelow.
REFERENCES:
patent: 4950608 (1990-08-01), Kishimoto
patent: 5459300 (1995-10-01), Kasman
patent: 5601141 (1997-02-01), Gordon et al.
patent: 5620894 (1997-04-01), Barger et al.
patent: 5681492 (1997-10-01), Van Praet
patent: 5942432 (1999-08-01), Smith et al.
patent: 6106784 (2000-08-01), Lund et al.
patent: 8-192058 (1996-07-01), None
Beisner William H.
Dadswell Charles E.
Glaxo Wellcome Inc.
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