Preparation of glassified biological reagents
View Patent ↗The invention related to a method of making a dried reagent preparation, comprising the steps of: providing an aqueous solution of at least one buffered biological reagent; mixing a glass forming filler material with the buffered reagent solution to form a mixture wherein the concentration of the filler material is sufficient to facilitate formation of a glassy, porous composition; dispensing the mixture in the form of substantially uniform droplets into wells of a multi-well container, wherein a single droplet is dispensed into each well; drying the droplets in the container to form the reagent preparation. The reagent preparation is water soluble and has a Tg sufficient for room temperature stability.
1. A method of making a dried reagent preparation, comprising the steps of:
(a) providing an aqueous solution of at least one buffered biological reagent;
(b) mixing a glass forming filler material with the buffered reagent solution to form a mixture wherein the concentration of the filler material is sufficient to facilitate formation of a glassy, porous composition;
(c) dispensing the mixture in the form of substantially uniform droplets into wells of a multi-well container, wherein the multi-well container is a polystyrene plate and wherein a single droplet is dispensed into each well;
(d) placing said polystyrene plate on a metal mould wherein outside wall of each well of said multi-well polystyrene plate is in contact with a well of said metal mould;
(e) after step d), drying the droplets in said container to form the reagent preparation; and
(f) collecting the dried droplets into a reagent bottle for room temperature storage of the dried reagents;
wherein the reagent preparation is water soluble and has a Tg sufficient for room temperature stability.
2. The method of claim 1 , wherein said polystyrene plate is a 96-well plate.
3. The method of claim 1 , wherein said polystyrene plate is a 384-well plate.
4. The method of claim 1 , wherein said drying step is achieved by lyophilizing.
5. The method of claim 1 , wherein said at least one buffered biological reagent is an assay mixture for a biological assay.
6. The method of claim 1 , further comprising freezing said dispensed mixture prior to said drying step.
7. The method of claim 5 , wherein said assay mixture includes all the reagents necessary for PCR, except amplification template and primers.
8. The method of claim 5 , wherein said assay mixture includes all the reagents necessary for in vitro transcription, except the template.
9. The method of claim 5 , wherein said assay mixture includes all the reagents necessary for whole genome amplification, except the template.
10. The method of claim 5 , wherein said assay mixture includes all the reagents necessary for a real-time PCR assay, except the template.
11. A method of making a dried reagent preparation, comprising the steps of:
(a) providing an aqueous solution of at least one buffered biological reagent;
(b) mixing a glass forming filler material with the buffered reagent solution to form a mixture wherein the concentration of the filler material is sufficient to facilitate formation of a glassy, porous composition;
(c) dispensing the mixture in the form of substantially uniform droplets into wells of a multi-well container, wherein the multi-well container is a polystyrene plate and wherein a single droplet is dispensed into each well;
(d) placing said polystyrene plate on a metal mould wherein outside wall of each well of said multi-well polystyrene plate is in contact with a well of said metal mould;
(e) after step d), drying the droplets in said container to form the reagent preparation; and
(f) sealing the multi-well container with a sealing tape or a thermoseal for room temperature storage of the dried reagents;
wherein the reagent preparation is water soluble and has a Tg sufficient for room temperature stability.
12. The method of claim 11 , wherein said sealing tape is heat-activated.
13. The method of claim 11 , wherein said polystyrene plate is a 96-well plate.
14. The method of claim 11 , wherein said polystyrene plate is a 384-well plate.
15. The method of claim 11 , wherein said drying step is achieved by lyophilizing.
16. The method of claim 11 , wherein said at least one buffered biological reagent is an assay mixture for a biological assay.
17. The method of claim 11 , further comprising freezing said dispensed mixture prior to said drying step.
18. The method of claim 16 , wherein said assay mixture includes all the reagents necessary for PCR, except amplification template and primers.
19. The method of claim 16 , wherein said assay mixture includes all the reagents necessary for in vitro transcription, except the template.
20. The method of claim 16 , wherein said assay mixture includes all the reagents necessary for whole genome amplification, except the template.
21. The method of claim 16 , wherein said assay mixture includes all the reagents necessary for a real-time PCR assay, except the template.