Source: https://patents.justia.com/patent/20160041077
Timestamp: 2019-09-23 01:15:00
Document Index: 17917187

Matched Legal Cases: ['Application No. 62', 'Application No. 61', 'Application No. 61', 'Application No. 61', 'Application No. 61', 'Application No. 61', 'Application No. 61', 'Application No. 61', 'Application No. 61', 'Application No. 61']

US Patent Application for APPARATUS, SYSTEM, AND METHOD FOR COLLECTING A TARGET MATERIAL Patent Application (Application #20160041077 issued February 11, 2016) - Justia Patents Search
Justia Patents US Patent Application for APPARATUS, SYSTEM, AND METHOD FOR COLLECTING A TARGET MATERIAL Patent Application (Application #20160041077)
This disclosure is directed to an apparatus, system and method for retrieving a target material from a sample. A fraction-density-altering solution may be added to a vessel that contains the sample to change the density of a first fraction of the sample without changing the density of the target material or the density of any other sample fraction. A collector may be inserted into the vessel to funnel the target material from the sample into the collector or into a processing receptacle included in the collector. In one implementation, the collector may include a cannula which extends into a chamber to hold the processing receptacle at a first end of the collector and a funnel at a second end that that is in fluid communication with the cannula. In another implementation, the processing receptacle may be inserted into a bore within the collector.
This application claims the benefit of Provisional Application No. 62/068,480, filed Oct. 24, 2014; and this application is a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 14/665,368, filed Mar. 23, 2015, which is a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 14/610,522, filed Jan. 30, 2015, which claims the benefit of Provisional Application No. 61/935,457, filed Feb. 4, 2014, and which is also a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 14/495,449, filed Sep. 24, 2014, which is a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 14/090,337, filed Nov. 26, 2013, which claims the benefit of Provisional Application No. 61/732,029, filed Nov. 30, 2012; Provisional Application No. 61/745,094, filed Dec. 21, 2012; Provisional Application No. 61/791,883, filed Mar. 15, 2013; Provisional Application No. 61/818,301, filed May 1, 2013; and Provisional Application No. 61/869,866, filed Aug. 26, 2013; and is also a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 14/266,939, filed May 1, 2014, which claims the benefit of Provisional Application No. Provisional Application No. 61/818,301, filed May 1, 2013, Provisional Application No. 61/869,866, filed Aug. 26, 2013, and Provisional Application No. 61/935,457, filed Feb. 4, 2014.
Suspensions often include materials of interests that are difficult to detect, extract and isolate for analysis. For instance, whole blood is a suspension of materials in a fluid. The materials include billions of red and white blood cells and platelets in a proteinaceous fluid called plasma. Whole blood is routinely examined for the presence of abnormal organisms or cells, such as ova, fetal cells, endothelial cells, parasites, bacteria, and inflammatory cells, and viruses, including HIV, cytomegalovirus, hepatitis C virus, and Epstein-Barr virus. Currently, practitioners, researchers, and those working with blood samples try to separate, isolate, and extract certain components of a peripheral blood sample for examination. Typical techniques used to analyze a Mood sample include the steps of smearing a film of blood on a slide and staining the film in a way that enables certain components to be examined by bright field microscopy.
FIGS. 11A and 11B show a first seal being formed to prevent fluids from moving up or down within the primary vessel. For convenience, FIG. 11A shall be used to describe the method, though the method applies equally to FIG. 11 B. The first seal also inhibits float movement. The first sealing ring 600 may be placed at approximately a lower end of the main body of the float 904. The first sealing ring 600 exerts circumferential or radial forces on the primary vessel 902, thereby causing the primary vessel 902 to collapse inwardly against the float 904. Magnified view 1102 shows the first sealing ring 600 tightened around the float and primary vessel system 900. The first sealing ring 600, having been placed at an interface of the buffy coat 1002 and the red blood cells 1003, causes the primary vessel 902 to collapse inwardly until a seal is formed between the primary vessel 902 and the float 904. An outer wall of the first sealing ring 600 may sit flush with an outer wall of the primary vessel 902; the outer wall of the first sealing ring 600 may extend past the outer wall of the primary vessel 902; or, the outer wall of the primary vessel 902 may extend past the outer wall of the first sealing ring 600. The first sealing ring 600 remains tightened to maintain the seal, which prevents fluids from moving past the seal in any direction. The first sealing ring 600 may also remain in tension. Alternatively, the first sealing ring 600 may be overtightened and then the force applied to the first sealing ring 600 is removed. The first sealing ring 600 may expand slightly, though still remains constricted.
1. A method for collecting a target material, the method comprising the steps of
centrifuging a primary vessel including a float having a main body and a sample to effect a density-based separation of the sample into at least two fractions and to trap the target material between the main body of the float and an inner wall of the primary vessel;
adding a clearing fluid having a density greater than the target material to the primary vessel;
re-centrifuging the primary vessel to move the target material at least above the main body of the float;
adding at least one fluorescent probe to the vessel;
adding a density-altering agent to the vessel to change the density of at least one portion of the sample other than the target material such that the density of the target material is less than a changed density of the at least one portion of the sample;
inserting a collector into an open end of the primary vessel;
adding a layering fluid to the vessel, the layering fluid having a density greater than the target material and less than any fraction or portion of the sample;
inserting a first processing vessel into the collector, wherein the first processing receptacle includes a first collection fluid having a density greater than at least a portion of the target material and less than the changed density of the first sample fraction and any other sample fractions; and
centrifuging the vessel, the collector, and the first processing vessel, such that during centrifugation the first collection fluid flows into the primary vessel via the collector via a cannula of the collector and the at least portion of the target material flows into the first processing receptacle via the cannula of the collector.
2. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of forming a first seal between a lower end of the main body of the float and the inner wall of the primary vessel, wherein forming the first seal is performed after centrifuging to effect the density-based separation and before adding clearing fluid.
3. The method of claim 2, further comprising the step of forming a second seal between an upper end of the main body of the float and the inner wall of the primary vessel, wherein forming the second seal is performed after re-centrifuging and before adding the at least one fluorescent probe to the primary vessel.
4. The method of claim 1, wherein the density-altering agent is selected from the group consisting of a solution of colloidal silica particles coated with polyvinylpyrrolidone, a polysaccharide solution, iodixanol, a complex, branch glucan, cesium chloride, sucrose, a sugar-based solution, a polymer solution, and a multi-phase polymer solution.
5. The method of claim 1, wherein the portion of the target material is a first sub-fraction of the target material.
removing the first processing receptacle including the first sub-fraction from the collector;
inserting a second processing receptacle including a second collection fluid into the chamber of the collector; and
the second collection fluid to flow into the primary vessel via the collector and a second sub-fraction to flow into the second processing receptacle via the collector,
wherein the second collection fluid has a density greater than the second sub-fraction and the first collection fluid, and wherein the second sub-fraction has a density greater than the first sub-fraction.
7. The method of claim 6, wherein the first sub-fraction is the target material.
8. The method of claim 6, wherein the first sub-fraction is a non-target material and the second sub-fraction is the target material.
9. The method of claim 6, wherein the removing, inserting, and re-centrifuging steps are repeated with an nth processing receptacle including an nth collection fluid, wherein nth is equal to or greater than 3rd, and wherein the removing, inserting, and re-centrifuging steps are repeated until all desired sub-fractions are obtained from the sample, wherein each successive collection fluid has a density greater than each preceding collection fluid.
10. The method of claim 1, wherein the processing vessel includes a plug in a closed end.
11. The method of claim 10, wherein the processing vessel includes cap to seal an open end.
12. The method of claim 10, wherein the cannula of the collector extends at least partially through the plug.
removing at least a portion of the first sample fraction,
wherein the removing step is performed before adding the density-altering agent.
14. The method of claim 1, wherein the density-altering agent does not change the density of the target material.
15. The method of claim 1, wherein adding the layering fluid is performed before inserting the collector into the vessel.
16. The method of claim 1, wherein adding the layering fluid is performed after inserting the collector into the vessel by inserting a fluid laying device into the collector and forcing the layering fluid through the cannula of the collector and into the vessel.
17. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of adding a depletion reagent to the sample prior to centrifugation to effect the density-based separation, the depletion reagent to remove at least a portion of a non-target material.
18. The method of claim 17, wherein the depletion reagent lyses the portion of the non-target material.
19. The method of claim 17, wherein the depletion reagent changes the density of the portion of the non-target material.
20. The method of claim 1, wherein the first collection fluid and the layering fluid are selected from the group consisting of: a solution of colloidal silica particles coated with polyvinylpyrrolidone, a polysaccharide solution, iodixanol, an organic solvent, a liquid wax, an oil, a gas, olive oil, mineral oil, silicone oil, immersion oil, mineral oil, paraffin oil, silicon oil, fluorosilicone, perfluorodecalin, perfluoroperhydrophenanthrene, perfluorooctylbromide, organic solvents, 1,4-Dioxane, acetonitrile, ethyl acetate, tert-butanol, cyclohexanone, methylene chloride, tert-Amyl alcohol, tert-Butyl methyl ether, butyl acetate, hexanol, nitrobenzene, toluene, octanol, octane, propylene carbonate, tetramethylene sulfones, ionic liquids, a polymer-based solution, a surfactant, a perfluoroketone, perfluorocyclopentanone, perfluorocyclohexanone, a fluorinated ketone, a hydrofluoroether, a hydrofluorocarbon, a perfluorocarbon, a perfluoropolyether, silicon, a silicon-based liquid, phenylmethyl siloxane, and combinations thereof.
Publication number: 20160041077
Patent Grant number: 9625360
Inventors: Lance U'Ren (Seattle, WA), Elizabeth Chang (Mercer Island, WA)
International Classification: G01N 1/40 (20060101); B01L 3/00 (20060101); C12Q 1/68 (20060101);