Flow-controlled magnetic particle manipulation

• Main Authors: HOLMAN DAVID A, BRUCKNER-LEA CYNTHIA J, GRATE JAY W
• Format: Patent
• Language: English
• Published: 22.02.2011
• Subjects: APPARATUS FOR ENZYMOLOGY OR MICROBIOLOGY; BEER; BIOCHEMISTRY; CHEMICAL OR PHYSICAL LABORATORY APPARATUS FOR GENERAL USE; CHEMISTRY; COMPOSITIONS OR TEST PAPERS THEREFOR; CONDITION-RESPONSIVE CONTROL IN MICROBIOLOGICAL ORENZYMOLOGICAL PROCESSES; ENZYMOLOGY; INVESTIGATING OR ANALYSING MATERIALS BY DETERMINING THEIRCHEMICAL OR PHYSICAL PROPERTIES; MAGNETIC OR ELECTROSTATIC SEPARATION OF SOLID MATERIALS FROM SOLIDMATERIALS OR FLUIDS; MAGNETIC OR ELECTROSTATIC SEPARATION OF SOLID MATERIALS FROMSOLID MATERIALS OR FLUIDS; MEASURING; MEASURING OR TESTING PROCESSES INVOLVING ENZYMES, NUCLEICACIDS OR MICROORGANISMS; METALLURGY; MICROBIOLOGY; MUTATION OR GENETIC ENGINEERING; PERFORMING OPERATIONS; PHYSICAL OR CHEMICAL PROCESSES OR APPARATUS IN GENERAL; PHYSICS; PROCESSES OF PREPARING SUCH COMPOSITIONS; SEPARATION BY HIGH-VOLTAGE ELECTRIC FIELDS; SEPARATION OF SOLID MATERIALS USING LIQUIDS OR USING PNEUMATICTABLES OR JIGS; SPIRITS; TESTING; TRANSPORTING; VINEGAR; WINE

Inventive methods and apparatus are useful for collecting magnetic materials in one or more magnetic fields and resuspending the particles into a dispersion medium, and optionally repeating collection/resuspension one or more times in the same or a different medium, by controlling the direction and rate of fluid flow through a fluid flow path. The methods provide for contacting derivatized particles with test samples and reagents, removal of excess reagent, washing of magnetic material, and resuspension for analysis, among other uses. The methods are applicable to a wide variety of chemical and biological materials that are susceptible to magnetic labeling, including, for example, cells, viruses, oligonucleotides, proteins, hormones, receptor-ligand complexes, environmental contaminants and the like.