Chemistry: molecular biology and microbiology – Measuring or testing process involving enzymes or... – Involving nucleic acid
Reexamination Certificate
2000-08-14
2003-06-24
Le, Long V. (Department: 1641)
Chemistry: molecular biology and microbiology
Measuring or testing process involving enzymes or...
Involving nucleic acid
C435S004000, C435S007100, C435S007920, C435S287100, C435S287200, C435S287300, C435S288200, C435S288400, C435S288500, C435S288700, C435S808000, C422S063000, C422S064000, C422S068100, C422S082050, C422S105000, C436S164000, C436S172000, C436S174000, C436S518000, C436S524000, C436S528000, C436S805000, C436S807000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06582912
ABSTRACT:
This application is the US National Stage Filing of PCR/FR98/02639 field on Dec. 7, 1998.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a device intended for the qualitative or quantitative dosing of at least one particular component in a product-sample, preferably making it possible to implement immunological dosing, as well as to a process and a kit which are intended for implementing the device.
Numerous methods have been developed for identifying, detecting or quantifying analytes in chemical or biological samples.
These methods are mostly based on the formation of complexes by affinity reaction between members of a specific binding pair.
These reactions, of ligand/receptor type, result for example from interactions between an antigen and a specific antibody, from hybridization between two complementary nucleic acid sequences or from a phenomenon of recognition between the binding site of a protein, for example an enzyme, hormone or other biological entity, and its ligand, substrate or receptor.
The formation of an affinity complex makes it possible to reveal the presence of the sought-after analyte in the sample. This analyte may possibly be quantified, if it is possible to separate the complexed forms from those remaining in the free state, or to measure the degree of occupancy of the specific ligands of the analyte.
This type of method of detecting and quantifying an analyte present in a sample, sometimes in trace amounts, is of great interest to research or analysis laboratories, especially clinical or biological analysis laboratories.
However, for routine use, the methods must be able to be applied simultaneously to a large number of samples. Furthermore, for one and the same sample, it is often necessary to carry out several tests.
Therefore, in most cases, the manual protocols of routine analysis involve several reactions and successive manipulation steps. These multiple tests are carried out on samples in series, in very large centers in which several tens of thousands of samples—may be tested per day. Such multiple tests may therefore impose constraints and require relatively lengthy performance times. Additionally, the successive manipulations which they require may give rise to errors in the results.
The problem of the automation of this type of test therefore rapidly arises, and various devices have thus been devised in order to achieve automation, or, at the very least, a simplification of the successive steps indicated above.
These devices remain however for the most part relatively complex or adapted to the detection of a particular type of analyte (cell or molecule) or else only allow qualitative analyses to be carried out. Such devices are described in particular in the documents EP 0339277 and EP 0426729.
In particular, the document EP 339 277 describes a device for performing successive analytical reactions for dosing an analyte in a liquid assay sample involving analytical reactions between the analyte and analytical reagents which interact with the analyte to produce an analyte-dependent detectable response.
This device comprises a closed receptacle having a horizontal axis of rotation. This closed receptacle is delimited externally by a cylindrical wall and internally comprises two concentric spoon-shaped walls which define between themselves a sample inlet zone. Between said spoon-shaped walls and the cylindrical peripheral wall there are defined several reaction zones into which the specific analytical reagents are incorporated.
According to this document, the sample is introduced by an entry pathway into the inlet chamber defined between the spoon-shaped walls and opening toward the reaction zones. By pivoting said receptacle in a swinging movement about its horizontal axis, the liquid sample is transported by gravity into the reaction zones where it interacts with the reagents and then transported to an examination zone situated at the center of the receptacle.
Such a device is designed chiefly to avoid any centrifugation of the product when carrying out dosing.
The document JP HEI-5 215 750 also discloses a device for detecting and analyzing cellular populations, which comprises a horizontal circular dish mounted rotatably about a vertical axis. This open dish is covered with antibodies.
It is rotated about its vertical axis so that the sample introduced at its center is distributed under the action of a centrifugal force over said dish.
The subsequent washing steps are carried out in the same way by introducing the rinsing liquid at the center of the dish, the liquid being discharged toward the periphery of the dish during the rotation of the latter, while rinsing the surface on which the component to be dosed is fixed. In order to recover the rinsing liquid, there is provided a receptacle placed beneath the dish.
Finally, the document WO 94 25 159 discloses a device for the qualitative and/or quantitative dosing of a particular component in a sample of products, which comprises a substantially circular container mounted rotatably on a shaft for driving via a central housing, and in which test chambers are made which extend along radii of the container and which have a density gradient. In the central part of the container, there is provided an annular centrifugation chamber which is in communication with each test chamber.
This annular centrifugation chamber can be divided into two parts which communicate with each other via an upper opening.
The wall delimiting the first part of the centrifugation chamber is inclined so that the products are transferred from the first part to the second part by overflowing from the delimiting wall, via the communication orifice. Likewise, the wall delimiting the second part of the centrifugation chamber exhibits an inclined slope so that the mixture is transferred into each test chamber by overflowing via the communication orifice between the second part of the centrifugation chamber and said test chambers.
The slope of the wall delimiting the second part of the centrifugation chamber is greater than the slope of the wall delimiting the first part so that during centrifugation, the product passes firstly from the first part of the centrifugation chamber situated close to the axis of rotation of the container, to the second part of the centrifugation chamber before being transferred to the test chambers.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The invention proposes a novel arrangement of a dosing device which is of simple design and easy to use and which can be manipulated individually with a minimum number of manipulations so as to carry out dosing, allowing dosings to be carried out in proximity to the place of withdrawal of the product sample containing the particular component to be dosed, such a device exhibiting an optimized arrangement and furthermore making it possible to carry out assays in series from small quantities of samples.
More particularly, according to the invention, there is proposed a device for the qualitative and/or quantitative dosing of at least one particular component in a product sample by labeling and fixing, said device comprising a container and a cover which are assembled to form a closed receptacle.
This device is characterized in that said closed receptacle has a vertical axis, in that the container and the cover carry coaxial cylindrical walls which, while the container and cover are being assembled, position themselves pairwise one against the other thereby delimiting at least three concentric annular chambers inside the receptacle, namely from the axis an inlet chamber intended for receiving the sample and as appropriate allowing the labeling of the component, a chamber for fixing and reading said labeled component and a discharge chamber, in that the coaxial cylindrical walls forming separations between the successive annular chambers each comprise at least one opening, and in that the assembled cover and container are able to turn with respect to one another about the vertical axis and the openings of the coaxial cylindrical walls of the container and of the cover are pl
Canton Michel
Rousseau Alain
Le Long V.
Levine & Mandelbaum
Padmanabhan Kartic
Stago International
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