Amersham Biosciences received US Patent No. 6,569,674, “Method and apparatus for performing biological reactions on a substrate surface.” The patent covers a system for removing gas bubbles from a reaction chamber comprising a flexible layer affixed to a substrate layer holding oligonucleotide binding sites, in which biological reactions are performed. The system describes methods and apparatus for removing gas bubbles from the reaction chamber where target molecules contained in a sample fluid react with probe.
Nanogen received US Patent No. 6,569,382, “Methods and apparatus for the electronic, homogeneous assembly and fabrication of devices.” The patent covers a method for the fabrication of microscale — including micron, sub-micron, and nanoscale size — devices. Electronic transport of movable component devices is utilized through a fluidic medium to a target location on a substrate or motherboard. Forces include electrophoretic force, electroosmotic force, electrostatic force and/or dielectrophoretic force. In the preferred embodiment, free-field electroosmotic forces are utilized either alone, or in conjunction with other forces. These forces may be used singly, or in combination, as well as in conjunction with yet other forces, such as fluidic forces, mechanical forces, or thermal convective forces. Transport may be affected through the use of driving electrodes so as to transport the component device to yet other connection electrodes. In certain embodiments, the connection electrodes may also be utilized, alone or in combination with driving electrodes, to electronically transport the components to the electrodes.
UT-Battelle of Oak Ridge, Tenn., received US Patent No. 6,569,687, “Dual manifold system and method for fluid transfer.” The patent covers a dual-manifold system for the transfer of reagents from a microtiter plate to a solid-state microelectronic device containing biological sensors. The assembly includes aspiration and dispense manifolds connected by conduits. In operation, the aspiration manifold is seated onto an array of reagent-filled wells of the microtiter plate. The wells are pressurized to force reagent through conduits toward the dispense manifold. A pressure pulse provided by a standard ink-jet print head ejects nanoliter- to picoliter-sized droplets of reagent through an array onto test sites on the surface of the microelectronic device.
The Institute for Anthropology and Human Genetics of Munich, Germany and the Murdoch Institute, Royal Children’s Hospital, of Melbourne, Australia, received US Patent No. 6,569,621, “Method of purifying DNA.” The patents covers a system for purifying a set of specific DNA molecules to be used in DNA-DNA hybridizations, as well as to DNA probes containing less than 2 percent Cot-1 DNA.