Patent ID: 6149882
Filing Date: 2000-11-21
Classification: B01J,C40B,G01N,Y10T

Abstract:
An apparatus for screening members of a library, the apparatus comprisingat least six vessels for receiving library members, each of the at least six vessels having an inlet and an outlet,a detector for analyzing vessel effluent,a fluid handling system for providing fluid flow simultaneously through the at least six vessels, anda sampling probe selectively positioned to sample vessel effluent and adapted to transport sampled fluid to the detector,the fluid handling system comprising an entrance control volume in fluid communication with the inlet of each of the at least six vessels, an exit control volume in fluid communication with the outlet of each of the at least six vessels, and at least six flow restrictors, each of the at least six flow restrictors providing fluid communication between one of the at least six vessels and (i) the entrance control volume or alternatively, (ii) the exit control volume,the resistance to fluid flow in the fluid handling system being greatest in the flow restrictors and the resistance to flow in each of the at least six flow restrictors being approximately the same, such that maintaining a higher pressure in the entrance control volume than in the exit control volume results in simultaneous fluid flow through the at least six vessels that is apportioned approximately equally between each of the at least six vessels.