The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Dec. 18, 2007
Filed:
Aug. 30, 2005
Victor Fernandez, Dundee, GB;
Amar Rida, Prilly, CH;
Martin Gijs, Ecublens, CH;
Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne (EPFL), Lausanne, CH;
Abstract
A device for transporting magnetic or magnetizable microbeads () in a capillary chamber () comprises a permanent magnet () or an electromagnet () for subjecting the capillary chamber to a substantially uniform magnetic field, to apply a permanent magnetic moment to the microbeads (). At least one planar coil () and preferably an array of overlapping coils are located adjacent to the capillary chamber () for applying a complementary magnetic field on the microbeads parallel or antiparallel to said substantially uniform magnetic field, to drive the microbeads. An arrangement is provided for switching the current applied to the coil(s) () to invert the field produced thereby, to selectively apply an attractive or repulsive driving force on the microbeads (). The device is usable to transport microbeads for performing chemical and biochemical reactions or assay, as is done for instance in clinical chemistry assays for medical diagnostic purposes.