Abstract:
In a preferred embodiment, a precious reagent container, including; a horizontally elongated body; a plurality of vertical, aligned reagent wells defined in the body, the reagent wells having a common depth; and a common vertical channel joining the vertical, aligned reagent wells, the common vertical channel having a depth equal to the common depth. A method of using the precious reagent container is also provided.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to reagents generally and, more particularly, but not by way of limitation, to novel precious reagent container and method of use. 
     2. Background Art 
     In the field of drug discovery and genomic research, there is a need to work with small aliquots of precious reagents. A problem arises when it is necessary to work with them in high throughput applications. To meet the throughput desired in this area of work, the microplate is the de facto standard in either 96 well format or 384 well format. The 96 well format consists of wells in an 8×12 matrix on 9 mm spacing. The 384 well format is a 16×24 matrix on 4.5 mm spacing. The newest configuration to consume reagents is the 1536 well format of a 32×48 matrix on 2.5 mm spacing. 
     The size of the precious liquid aliquot to be transferred is normally in the range of 0.5 to 5 microliters. This is easily accomplished with the multiple well pipettors that are available. A problem arises, however, in trying to fill the multiple pipettor tips. Normally, a reservoir is used to permit multiple well pipettors to aspirate aliquots simultaneously for dispensing. Assume 5 μL of reagent A is to be aspirated and dispensed to all wells of a 384 well microplate. This requires 1920 μL or 1.92 mL total volume. The wells of the pipettor are spread over an area of 72×108 mm or 7776 mm 2 . That equates to 4 μL for every square millimeter of the reservoir bottom. Surface tension alone prohibits that small a volume from uniformly covering that area. 
     The solution most commonly used is to have individual small grooves or channels defined in the bottom of the reservoir. Then, instead of trying to cover the entire area, it is only necessary to have enough reagents to fill the channels to a suitable depth to aspirate the required volume. Another approach is to have small dimples located under each aspirating well. Theoretically, the dimples could hold the volume desired for each aspirating well. The problem reverts to how is each dimple filled. If done individually, the advantage of multiple well pipetting is lost. To fill all dimples essentially simultaneously, a small volume may be placed in the reservoir and the reservoir is then shaken or vibrated to cause liquid motion to fill the dimples. 
     In all cases, there is a dead volume that cannot be aspirated with the multiple well pipettor. There is a loss when this dead volume is returned to the source or storage container. This loss and the need for extra reagent to fill the dead volume inhibit the use of multiple well pipettors. 
     Accordingly, it is a principal object of the present invention to provide a container that can be used as both a storage unit and a reservoir for multiple well pipetting, with essentially no dead volume as described above. 
     It is a further object of the invention to provide such a container that can be stored at temperatures of −20° C. to −80° C. 
     It is an additional object of the invention to provide such a container that can be easily filled. 
     It is another object of the invention to provide such a container that can be easily manufactured using conventional techniques. 
     It is yet a further object of the invention to provide a method of using such a container. 
     Other objects of the present invention, as well as particular features, elements, and advantages thereof, will be elucidated in, or be apparent from, the following description and the accompanying drawing figures. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention achieves the above objects, among others, by providing, in a preferred embodiment, a precious reagent container, comprising; a horizontally elongated body; a plurality of vertical, aligned reagent wells defined in said body, said reagent wells having a common depth; and a common vertical channel joining said vertical, aligned reagent wells, said common vertical channel having a depth equal to said common depth. A method of using said precious reagent container is also provided. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING 
       Understanding of the present invention and the various aspects thereof will be facilitated by reference to the accompanying drawing figures, provided for purposes of illustration only and not intended to define the scope of the invention, on which: 
         FIG. 1  is a top/side/end isometric view of a reagent container according to the present invention. 
         FIG. 2  is a top/side/end isometric view of a frame that can be used to hold a plurality of reagent containers. 
         FIG. 3  is a top/side/end isometric view of a frame with a plurality of reagent containers therein. 
         FIG. 4  is a bottom/side/end elevational view of a lid for a container. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     Reference should now be made to the drawing figures on which similar or identical elements are given consistent identifying numerals throughout the various figures thereof, and on which parenthetical references to figure numbers, when used, direct the reader to the view(s) on which the element(s) being described is (are) best seen, although the element(s) may be seen on other figures also. 
       FIG. 1  illustrates a regent container, constructed according to the present invention, and generally indicated by the reference numeral  10 . Reagent container  10  includes a horizontally extending body  20  that can be injection molded from an inert polymer that is suitable for storage at temperatures of −20° C. to −80° C. Injection molded polypropylene is an example of a suitable polymer. It may also be molded from fluoropolymers to provide different liquid surface tension characteristics. Defined in body  20  is a plurality of aligned vertical wells, as at  30 , joined by a vertical channel  32 . In the embodiment shown, there are 16 wells  30  on 4.5 mm spacing, each well with a diameter of about 0.12-inch×about 0.42-inch deep. The width of channel  32  is about 0.030 inch wide×0.38-inch deep. The height of body  20  is 0.560 inch to match the recommended height of a standard microplate, per the Society of Biomolecular Screening (SBS) standard. The total brim volume of wells  30  and channel  32  is approximately 1.3 mL. A first end of body  20  has a male tang  40  to interlock with a supporting frame (not shown on  FIG. 1 ) for alignment and a second end of body  20  has a female receptacle  42  to mate with a male tang on the frame. 
     Male tang  40  and female receptacle  42  serve to provide orientation of reagent container  10 . This provides two functions: first, male tang  40  and female receptacle  42  maintain the orientation of an identifying bar code  50  (shown on the side of body  20 , but more conveniently placed on the bottom of the body) and, second, they allow making companion strips in other than sixteen contiguous wells (i.e., two sets of eight or four sets of four), thus providing added flexibility to the design. A 2-D bar code may also be provided. Reagent container  10  may be accessed individually by an eight or a sixteen well pipettor. The eight well pipettor would have a 9 mm spacing, while the sixteen well pipettor would have a 4.5 mm spacing. 
       FIG. 2  illustrates a frame, constructed according to the present invention, and generally indicated by the reference numeral  100 . Frame  100  has an open bottom, horizontal, rectangular body  110 , with end walls  112  and  114  and side walls  116  and  118 . End wall  112  has a plurality of male tangs formed thereon, as at  130 , to engage a female receptacle  42  ( FIG. 1 ) and end wall  114  has a plurality of female receptacles, as at  140 , formed thereon to engage a male tang  40  ( FIG. 1 ). Frame  100  has a footprint of 5.030 inches long×3.365 inches long to match the SBS standard for microplates. Frame  100  also has flanges  150  defined along the lower edges of ends  112  and  114  and sides  116  and  118  to permit the use of the frame in plate stackers. 
       FIG. 3  illustrates frame  100  filled with reagent containers, as at  10 . Thus arranged, wells  130  of reagent containers  10  could be accessed simultaneously with a 384 well pipettor. 
       FIG. 4  illustrates a cover  200  that can be used to close wells  30  and channel  32  ( FIG. 1 ). Downwardly protruding dimples, as at  210 , and downwardly protruding strips  212  joining the dimples fill the tops of wells  30  and channel  32 , respectively, thus closing them to the surrounding environment Cover  200  may be manufactured from a flexible low durometer polymer, such as ethylene vinyl acetate or copolymers thereof. 
     In use, each reagent container  10  ( FIG. 1 ) is filled with its reagent. Low viscosity aqueous reagents may be filled from one point. The liquid reagent will, flow through connecting channel  32  to be evenly distributed to all wells. Viscous reagents may have to be filled in several wells and then centrifuged or vibrated to obtain uniform filling. Cover  200  ( FIG. 4 ) is then pressed into place on the top of the filled strip. The filled and sealed reagent container  10  is now ready for storage at ambient or below ambient temperatures. Reagent containers  10  may be stored individually or in frame  100  ( FIG. 3 ) as microplates. 
     At the time of use, container  10  is retrieved from storage and cover  200  removed. Container  10  may be used singularly or aligned within frame  100 . Then, the pipettor being used would aspirate the required volume. Cover  200  is replaced and the remaining balance of the reagent is returned to storage. Channel  32  ensures that the level in each well  30  is the same as the liquid reagent is removed. Being able to pipette directly from the storage container greatly reduces waste of precious reagent. 
     In the embodiments of the present invention described above, it will be recognized that individual elements and/or features thereof are not necessarily limited to a particular embodiment but, where applicable, are interchangeable and can be used in any selected embodiment even though such may not be specifically shown. 
     Terms such as “above”, “below”, “upper”, “lower”, “inner”, “outer”, “inwardly”, “outwardly”, “vertical”, “horizontal”, and the like, when used herein, refer to the positions of the respective elements shown on the accompanying drawing figures and the present invention is not necessarily limited to such positions. 
     It will thus be seen that the objects set forth above, among those elucidated in, or made apparent from, the preceding description, are efficiently attained and, since certain changes may be made in the above construction and method without departing from the scope of the invention, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown on the accompanying drawing figures shall be interpreted as illustrative only and not in a limiting sense. 
     It is also to be understood that the following claims are intended to cover all of the generic and specific features of the invention herein described and all statements of the scope of the invention which, as a matter of language, might be said to fall therebetween.