Artel, Inc.

Seyonic S.a.

Hague International

Overly, Inc,

Richard H Curtis

John Thomas Bradshaw

Charles A Ewing

Ceara McNally

Marc Boillat

David L Bohnsack

George Rodrigues

Keith J Albert

Tanya R Knaide

Alex L Rogers

Kirby Pilcher

Ann E Rundell

Rodger E Whipple

Alexis L Rogers

Ceara J Mcnally

Ceara Mcnally

A system and related method for improved liquid delivery evaluation using a solution containing one or more dyes such that the solution exhibits multiple distinct detectable light absorbance spectral features for calibrating or testing over extended volume or dilution ranges are described. The system includes: a photometric instrument capable of measuring optical absorbance at multiple wavelengths; one or more sample solutions to be dispensed using the liquid delivery system whose performance is being tested or calibrated; and vessels optionally pre-filled, or filled by the user, with diluent solution. The sample solutions contain one or more dyes, chosen so that multiple distinct detectable light absorbance spectral features, such as peaks and/or valleys and/or plateaus of the solution can be distinguished for volume or dilution ranges of interest. The concentrations of the dyes may be chosen so that a large volume delivery device is calibrated using a spectral feature in the solution with a low absorbance per unit pathlength, while a small volume delivery device is calibrated with the same sample solution but using a different spectral feature with a high absorbance per unit pathlength.

System and method for liquid delivery evaluation using solutions with multiple light absorbance spectral features

A system and related method for determining the volume of a sample solution delivered by a liquid delivery device. The system includes devices for adding and removing diluent, the sample solution under analysis and a mixture of the two in a cell having a substantially constant cross sectional area and a known horizontal optical path length. The system includes one or more spectrophotometers to measure horizontally and vertically absorbance associated with two distinct chromophores. A first chromophore of unknown concentration is in the diluent and a second chromophore of known concentration is in the sample solution. The method determines absorbance horizontally and vertically of the first chromophore prior to adding the sample solution and then determining absorbance of the first chromophore horizontally and vertically and the second chromophore horizontally after mixing the diluent and sample solution together. That information is used to determine the volume of the sample solution added to the cell.

Vertical and horizontal beam hybrid pipette calibration system

A liquid aspirating and dispensing apparatus and method of using the apparatus. Among other elements, the apparatus includes a liquid handling device having one or more channel members, each of which has a removable liquid holding tip attached, and a signal transmitting device. A signal transmitted from the signal transmitting device may be used in a variety of ways to yield information regarding the performance of the apparatus. This information may be provided via direct detection of the signal by an operator of the apparatus. Alternatively, the signal may be detected by a programmable signal detecting device, interpreted by the apparatus, and then displayed in a form that is understandable to the operator. Furthermore, the liquid holding tip may be modified to enable different forms of signal transmission.

Apparatus and method for aspirating and dispensing liquid

An apparatus used to calibrate microtiter plate readers. The apparatus includes one or more structures having two exterior surfaces wherein one of the exterior surfaces is coated with a coating selected to establish on that surface a reflection loss that mimics reflection loss at an air-liquid interface, and the other of the two exterior surfaces is coated with a coating selected to establish a reflection loss on that surface that mimics the reflection loss at a bottom surface of a microtiter plate. The apparatus may be a single layer, a multi-layered composition or a container. The apparatus is an artifact that may be used to calibrate a plate reader by mimicking a solution-filled microtiter plate. The artifact may be used for a plurality of liquids, including water. The artifact produces reflection losses more closely mirroring reflection losses expected for a liquid-filled microtiter plate well.

Artifact apparatus to mimic reflection losses of solution-filled microtiter plate readers and related uses thereof

An air displacement liquid delivery system including a liquid delivery device, one or more sensors, a control unit, and a preprogrammable computing device, and a method for using the air displacement liquid delivery system. The one or more sensors are capable of obtaining information regarding conditions within and external to the liquid delivery device and sending this information to the control unit and/or the computing device. In turn, the control unit and/or computing device are capable of using this information to calculate one or more properties of gas contained within, and the air external to, the liquid delivery device, and one or more properties of a liquid that is to be aspirated or dispensed by the liquid delivery device. The system may optimally control the performance of the liquid delivery device based upon any one or more of these calculated properties.

Air displacement liquid delivery system and related method

The invention provides ways to determine the impact of diluting a solution wherein the diluting may be carried out for any of a variety of purposes. In one embodiment, the method enables accurate volume dispensation calculations independent of meniscus shape. In another embodiment, the method enables accurate determination of plate washing efficiency. In yet another embodiment, the method enables the accurate determination of dilution ratio over a plurality of dilution steps. The methods described may be carried out using one or more systems arranged to perform the steps. A kit of the invention includes instructions for carrying out the steps of the methods and, optionally, one or more solutions suitable for conducting photometric measurements.

Quantitative dual-dye photometric method for determining dilution impact

A method, apparatus and kit for precisely and accurately determining the volume of a liquid aliquot which can be used to calibrate a liquid delivery device. Two dye-containing solutions, a sample solution and a diluent solution, are prepared such that each solution contains a different dye, with the solutions having different absorbance values at a first wavelength and at a second wavelength. The absorbance value of a known volume of diluent solution is measured at both wavelengths. Either one aliquot of sample solution is added to the diluent solution and then absorbance measurements are made at both wavelengths, or multiple aliquots of sample solution are mixed serially into the diluent solution and then absorbance measurements are made at both wavelengths after each aliquot is added. The volume of any single aliquot is calculated by using a two-step formula which is based on the Beer-Lambert law.

Method and apparatus for determining liquid volume

Pipettes, widely used in clinical and pharmaceutical laboratories to transfer small volumes of liquid, may be subject to hidden performance degradation and operator error. Pipette performance cannot be accepted without monitoring. The present disclosure concerns a verification device for a pipette with a piston for aspirating then dispensing, using a shaft, a determined volume of liquid. This device may include: a first assembly for supplying a displaced volume measurement, comparing this measurement to a desired value and generating an indication of the difference between the measured volume and the desired value; and a second assembly, responding to the first assembly, for delivering information relating to the indication.

Pipette verification device and pipette

A method and apparatus for measuring and calibrating the measurement of small volumes of liquids. The small volumes of liquid are typically dispensed from liquid delivery devices, the delivery device often having multiple channels to analyze many samples at once. The liquid samples are delivered to one or more cells, typically in a multi-well plate, and positioned in a spectrophotometer for determining an absorbance of a chromophore in the liquid sample. Based upon an absorbance measurement and the concentration of the chromophore, a path length of the liquid sample is determined, from which a volume of the sample may be calculated. The method and apparatus provide various means for correcting for differences in the dimensions and/or other factors causing a non-linear deviation from the Beer-Lambert law. A system or kit may be provided including sets of sample solutions of varying dilution ranges for calibrating different liquid volumes. The kit may further include software code for storing and analyzing the various sample solutions.

Photometric calibration of liquid volumes

An apparatus and related method for optical calibration of spectrophotometers is described. The apparatus is a calibration plate including one or more cuvettes filled with solutions of interest. The cuvettes are sealed to prevent evaporation. The cuvettes also possess a compressible component to allow for expansion of the solution and a bubble control apparatus to ensure that the compressible component does not intersect the beam path. A piece of neutral density glass is optionally included in the apparatus to track optical changes of the solutions over time.

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Gorham, ME, United States of America

Richard H Curtis