Patent ID: 9696299
Date: 2017-07-04
CPC Classifications: B01L,G01N

Claim:
1. An integrated unit comprising: a portable modular analyte concentrator-microreactor (ACM) device; an inlet transport capillary or passage connected to the analyte concentrator-microreactor (ACM) device; an outlet transport capillary or passage connected to the analyte concentrator-microreactor (ACM) device; a separation capillary or passage connected to the analyte concentrator-microreactor (ACM) device; the separation capillary or passage having an inlet end and an outlet end; the analyte concentrator-microreactor (ACM) device having a transport inlet port and a transport outlet port connected respectively to the inlet transport capillary or passage and the outlet transport capillary or passage, such that the inlet transport capillary or passage and the outlet transport capillary or passage are positioned in a parallel configuration to each other; the analyte concentrator-microreactor (ACM) device having a separation inlet port and a separation outlet port connected respectively to the inlet end and the outlet end of the separation capillary or passage; the analyte concentrator-microreactor (ACM) device having an internal passage or channel which includes an elongated concentration area connecting the separation inlet port to the separation outlet port; the inlet transport capillary or passage and the outlet transport capillary or passage, positioned in the parallel configuration to each other, intersect the elongated concentration area at two separate points between the separation inlet port and separation outlet port to form an analyte concentrator-microreactor area; the elongated concentration area of the analyte concentrator-microreactor (ACM) device providing a place of shelter for received microstructures or a matrix assembly and/or provides a place of shelter for encapsulated cellular and/or subcellular structures, and/or cellular receptors; one or more affinity ligands can be immobilized on the microstructures or the matrix assembly localized within the elongated concentration area of the analyte concentrator-microreactor (ACM) device for generating a concentration space where concentration of one or more analytes of interest and/or their respective modified and/or altered corresponding molecular counterpart from a sample introduced into the inlet transport capillary or passage occurs and/or for generating a microreaction space where microreaction of the one or more analytes of interest and/or their respective modified and/or altered corresponding molecular counterpart from the sample introduced into the inlet transport capillary or passage occurs; alternatively the one or more affinity ligands can be immobilized directly to an internal wall of a cavity or channel forming the elongated concentration area of the analyte concentrator-microreactor (ACM) device without the need of the microstructures or the matrix assembly; controlling means for independently controlling flow of the sample or buffers in the transport capillaries or passages and past the analyte concentrator-microreactor (ACM) device and conveyed by electromigration, electro-osmotic flow, mechanical pressure or a combination of electro-osmotic flow and mechanical pressure to an outlet end of the outlet transport capillary or passage, and for separately and independently controlling flow of a separation buffer supply, eluting buffer supply or cleaning buffer supply through the separation capillary or passage and past the analyte concentrator-microreactor (ACM) device and conveyed by electromigration, electro-osmotic flow, mechanical pressure or a combination of electro-osmotic flow and mechanical pressure to the outlet end of the separation capillary or passage; and an interchangeable cartridge-cassette or interchangeable unit to which the ACM device is detachably mounted using couplers to the inlet and outlet ends of the separation capillary or passage of the cartridge-cassette unit, a detection system can be positioned in operation with a monitoring area of the separation capillary or passage; wherein the portable modular analyte concentrator-microreactor (ACM) device can capture, isolate, purify, concentrate and separate analytes of interest and/or their respective modified and/or altered corresponding molecular counterpart bound to and released from the analyte concentrator-microreactor (ACM) device by alternating fluid communication of the separation buffer supply and then the eluting buffer supply and delivering the released analytes of interest and/or their respective modified and/or altered corresponding molecular counterpart to the detection system or a detection system of an analytical separation instrument separately, independently and sequentially by electromigration, electro-osmotic flow, mechanical pressure or a combination of electro-osmotic flow and mechanical pressure within the separation capillary or passage and the detection system providing quantitation, identification, and/or characterization information of the separated analytes.