Multicapillary device for sample preparation
View Patent ↗A multicapillary sample preparation device, especially useful for handling biological samples, comprising a plurality of uniform capillary tubes coated with a stationary phase, and arranged in a monolithic element. The multicapillary device is suitable for attachment to a pipette, micropipette, syringe, or other analytical or sample preparation instrument.
1. A method for isolating nucleic acid, comprising:
(a) loading a multicapillary element retained in or attached to a pipette, micropipette, pipette tip, or syringe device, with a loading solution comprising nucleic acid under conditions that permit adsorption of the nucleic acid to the inner wall of the capillaries, which multicapillary element comprises a plurality of parallel capillaries comprising a substantially imperforate inner wall;
(b) discarding the loading solution from the device after (a); and
(c) eluting the nucleic acid from the multicapillary element after (b), whereby the nucleic acid is isolated from the loading solution.
2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the device comprises a plastic, glass, fused silica, ceramic, or stainless steel.
3. The method of claim 2 , wherein the plastic is formed from polyetheretherketone, polystyrene, polypropylene or polyethylene.
4. The method of claim 3 , wherein the device is formed from polypropylene.
5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the device is a pipette tip.
6. The method of claim 5 , wherein the pipette tip is formed from polystyrene, polypropylene or polyethylene.
7. The method of claim 6 , wherein the pipette tip is formed from polypropylene.
8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the capillaries are substantially cylindrical.
9. The method of claim 1 , wherein the cross section of the capillaries is substantially polygonal.
10. The method of claim 1 , wherein the cross section of the capillaries is substantially hexagonal.
11. The method of claim 1 , wherein the multicapillary element comprises fused silica, glass, ceramic, stainless steel, polystyrene, polypropylene, polyethylene, or polyetheretherketone.
12. The method of claim 11 , wherein the multicapillary element consists of fused silica.
13. The method of claim 11 , wherein the multicapillary element consists of glass.
14. The method of claim 1 , wherein an inner diameter of each capillary is about 0.1 micrometers to about 200 micrometers.
15. The method of claim 1 , wherein an outer diameter of the multicapillary element is about 1 mm to about 20 mm.
16. The method of claim 1 , wherein the length of the multicapillary element is about 1 mm to about 250 mm.
17. The method of claim 1 , wherein the volume of the device is about 1 microliter to about 100 microliters.
18. The method of claim 1 , wherein the inner wall of the capillaries includes particles of inert material.
19. The method of claim 1 , wherein the inner wall of the capillaries includes a nodular surface.
20. The method of claim 1 , wherein the inner wall of the capillaries is etched.
21. The method of claim 1 , wherein the nucleic acid comprises deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA).
22. The method of claim 1 , wherein the nucleic acid comprises ribonucleic acid (RNA).
23. The method of claim 1 , wherein the nucleic acid isolated is sheared less than nucleic acid isolated from a device that includes porous silica.
24. The method of claim 1 , further comprising washing the multicapillary element after the loading solution is discarded and before the nucleic acid is eluted from the multicapillary element.
25. The method of claim 1 , wherein the inner surface of each capillary comprises an insoluble stationary phase coated directly on the inner wall of the capillaries.
26. The method of claim 25 , wherein the stationary phase comprises C18.