Process of producing plastic plates with wells by placing a film

Details Process of producing plastic plates with wells by placing a film Process of producing plastic plates with wells by placing a film

1993-01-15

1995-09-05

Timm, Catherine

Plastic and nonmetallic article shaping or treating: processes

Direct application of fluid pressure differential to...

Starting material is nonhollow planar finite length preform...

4253871, B29C 5110, B29C 5142

Patent

active

054476798

DESCRIPTION:

BRIEF SUMMARY
The present invention relates to a process for producing a plate comprising at least one well having its opening facing upwards, for receiving chemical and/or biochemical and/or microbiological substances, the wells being made in the plate with the aid of a molding die.
The invention also relates to a plate produced in accordance with the process.
Plates of this type are marketed by several suppliers and are known as microtest plates or microtiter plates.
The known plates consist of polystyrene or polyvinyl chloride and have a rigid bottom which is surrounded on all sides by an upwardly projecting edge. Wells arranged in rows and columns are recessed into the bottom from above, the bottom having a thickness of more than 1 mm. The volume of the wells is normally between some hundred microliters and some milliliters.
It has been known before to cover the edge of the plate with a lid in order to protect the wells and the interior space bounded by the edge against the ingress of contamination of any type.
The plates are used to keep solutions or substances at constant temperature. This is effected either for storage purposes, for example in a refrigerator, or in order to allow a reaction to proceed at a specific temperature. For the latter purpose, the plates are placed in an incubator which as a rule is set at 37.degree. C.
However, the known plates are not suited for many of the modern chemical, biochemical or microbiological methods. These methods require that the reaction solutions be brought to different temperatures as the test proceeds, which temperatures may vary from far below 0.degree. C. to above 110.degree. C. The reactions often have to follow a specific temperature profile cycle, which can consist of several heating and/or cooling operations. The yield and efficiency of the reactions depends in this case substantially on the speed at which the temperature change can be brought about in the different solutions used. Especially in the case of enzymatic processes in connection with examinations on nucleic acids, rapid temperature changes are required between high temperatures for melting double strands and low temperatures for initiating the reaction.
Some of these new methods have developed to standard procedures where a large number of samples is subjected continuously and repeatedly to the same procedural sequence. For aids tests, for example, a large number of blood samples is examined simultaneously in order to make available many results as quickly as possible.
Although the known plates are commercially available with up to 96 wells, this number is far too small for the required huge number of tests to be carried out. In addition, the known plates are unsuited for frequent rapid temperature changes, the processes of cooling them down in a refrigerator and/or heating them up in an incubator taking far too much time.
Although it is known to control the temperature of the plates via their plane underside, the temperature change of the samples, requiring up to several minutes, takes far too much time in this case, too.
In addition, conically tapered plastic reaction vessels which have a snap-on lid or a screw lid are known. The known plastic reaction vessels are, however, as a rule several centimeters high and have an external diameter in the range of 10 to 18 mm. The temperature of the solutions contained therein is changed by controlling the temperature of the reaction vessels as such, via their outsides. This is effected, for example, by immersing the reaction vessels in water baths. However, it has also been known to provide temperature controlled metal blocks with bores for the reaction vessels which are then temperature-controlled by their contact with the walls of such bores. The heat transfer may be improved in this case by filling the bores with water or oil.
The temperature change of the samples can be effected at the quickest by introducing the reaction vessels into different water baths and/or metal blocks which are adjusted to the new desirable temperature. Due to the thickness of the

REFERENCES:
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patent: 3482281 (1969-12-01), Thiel
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patent: 4772444 (1988-09-01), Curro et al.
patent: 4878826 (1989-11-01), Wendt
patent: 5158819 (1992-10-01), Goodman, Jr. et al.

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