Patent ID: 6020147
Filing Date: 2000-02-01
Classification: G01N,Y10S

Abstract:
A device for detecting the presence of an analyte in a carrier liquid suspected of containing said analyte, which device comprises a liquid permeable solid medium which defines a path for fluid flow capable of supporting capillary flow, along which are i) a site for application of the carrier liquid, ii) a diffusively bound labeled reactant specific for the analyte or a chemical moiety which is itself the reaction product of the analyte with another chemical moiety, said labeled reactant being capable of flow along the flow path, wherein said diffusively bound labeled reactant and said analyte or chemical moiety are of a specific ligand-anti ligand pair, and iii) one or more zones spaced along said flow path, each zone having a predetermined amount of a reactant bound to it which is specific for either the analyte or a chemical moiety which is itself the reaction product of the analyte with another chemical moiety;wherein said device can be used by contacting a carrier liquid with said application site in such a manner that permits said liquid to pass along the flow path by capillary flow such that analyte or reaction product of the analyte with another chemical moiety becomes bound to both the labeled reactant and the reactant bound to the solid medium; and wherein the labeled reactant, with the reactant bound to the solid medium, sandwiches the analyte or a chemical moiety which is itself the reaction product of the analyte with another chemical moiety.