US Patent No. 6,756,207, “System for cell-based screening”
Inventors: Giuliano, Kenneth; Bright, Gary; Olson, Keith; Burroughs Tencza, Sarah
Assignee: Cellomics
Description: According to the patent’s abstract, the invention provides systems, methods, screens, reagents, and kits for optical system analysis of cells to rapidly determine the distribution, environment, or activity of fluorescently labeled reporter molecules in cells for the purpose of screening large numbers of compounds for those that specifically affect particular biological functions.
US Patent No. 6,756,019, “Microfluidic devices and systems incorporating cover layers”
Inventors: Dubrow, Robert; Kennedy, Colin; Nagle, Robert; Chazan, David; Lee, Ernest; Gandhi, Khushroo; Chow, Calvin
Assignee: Caliper Technologies
Description: According to the patent’s abstract, the invention provides microfluidic devices that comprise a body structure comprising at least a first microscale channel network disposed therein. The body structure has a plurality of ports disposed in the body structure, where each port is in fluid communication with one or more channels in the first channel network. The devices also include a cover layer comprising a plurality of apertures disposed through the cover layer. The cover layer is mated with the body structure whereby each of the apertures is aligned with a separate one of the plurality of ports. Rings are optionally disposed between the cover layer and the body structure and circumferentially around pairs of aligned apertures and ports. The devices also optionally include conductive coatings and membranes. The invention additionally provides methods of controlling the delivery of a composition of material into a microfluidic device.
US Patent No. 6,756,591, “Method and device for photothermal imaging tiny particles immersed in a given medium”
Inventors: Lounis, Brahim; Orrit, Michel; Tamarat, Philippe; Boyer, David; Cognet, Laurent
Assignee: Centre National de la Recherche; Université de Bordeaux I
Description: According to its abstract, the patent protects a method and device for photothermally imaging tiny metal particles that are immersed in a given medium, such as a living cell, deposited onto a transparent glass slide. The medium and immersed tiny metal particles are illuminated through separate phase-reference and sensitive-probe laser beams, with the sensitive-probe laser beam including a heating laser beam undergoing slight phase changes induced by the photothermal effect due to a local heating.
Illuminating is performed by focusing the separate phase-reference and sensitive-probe laser beam through the transparent glass slide at a given depth within the given medium. A transmitted phase-reference laser beam and a transmitted sensitive-probe laser beam undergoing the slight phase changes are generated. An image of the medium at the given depth is formed through the transmitted phase-reference and sensitive-probe laser beam, and the slight phase changes on the transmitted sensitive-probe laser beam with reference to the reference-phase laser beam are detected so as to allow each of the tiny metal particles to be imaged as an optical label.