Apparatus for supplying reagents to a flow cytometry system

Inventors

Barnes, Stephen • Kane, Zachary • Bennett, Richard • Barrett, Jason

Assignees

Sartorius Bioanalytical Instruments Inc

Abstract

The disclosure provides example rinse station apparatus, cartridges, and methods for flow cytometry. The rinse station apparatus includes: (a) a cartridge docking station having a base with a recessed receptacle for a cartridge, a vertical support coupled to the base's first end and a top support coupled to the vertical support and cantilevered over the base, the top support has an opening that aligns with the cartridge's opening, (b) a locking arm coupled to the base's second end, the locking arm's free end has a ridge to cooperate with a detent coupled to the cartridge's rear wall to retain the cartridge in place, (c) a spring coupled to the vertical support's front face to apply force to the cartridge's front wall to bias the cartridge toward the locking arm, and (d) a load cell coupled to the base of the cartridge docking station, the load cell measure's the cartridge's weight.

Core Innovation

The invention provides a rinse station apparatus for flow cytometry that includes at least one cartridge docking station. The cartridge docking station has a base with a recessed receptacle configured to receive a cartridge, a vertical support coupled to a first end of the base, and a top support coupled to the vertical support and cantilevered over the base, with an opening arranged therethrough that aligns with an opening in the cartridge.

The apparatus retains the cartridge using a locking arm and a detent cooperation. A locking arm is coupled to a second end of the base, and a free end of the locking arm includes a ridge configured to cooperate with a detent coupled to a rear wall of the cartridge to retain the cartridge in place on the docking station. A spring coupled to a front face of the vertical support applies force to a front wall of the cartridge to bias the cartridge toward the locking arm, and at least one load cell coupled to the base measures a weight of the cartridge.

The invention further integrates load-cell-based control with a probe sampling system and handling features. A microcontroller or embedded processor receives a load-cell-derived cartridge weight value and controls a motorized carrier and a probe that move between the cartridge docking station and a well plate for sampling with a sampling depth within the cartridge. The described cartridge includes a re-sealable plug with a living-hinge cap and structural features such as an annular ring or shoulder and a cone-shaped baffle to damp splash and reduce spilling/splashing, and the system optionally supports cartridge-to-dock identification using RFID, barcode, or QR code.

Claims Coverage

The independent claim is directed to a flow-cytometry rinse station apparatus having a cartridge docking station with aligned cartridge openings, a locking arm/detent retention arrangement, spring biasing, and load-cell measurement of cartridge weight. The inventive features include structural docking alignment and retention, a biasing spring, load-cell cartridge weight measurement, and control of a probe sampling depth based on the measured weight, together with optional cartridge sealing/dampening features and cartridge-to-dock identification signaling.

Overall, the claim coverage emphasizes mechanical docking alignment of cartridge and top opening, positive retention using a locking arm ridge cooperating with a detent, spring biasing of the cartridge, and measuring cartridge weight via a load cell. Dependent coverage further ties the measured weight to control of probe sampling depth during movement to a well plate, and it adds cartridge sealing and splash-damping structure, with optional cartridge-to-dock identification signaling.

Stated Advantages

Documented Applications