WO1991019182A1

WO1991019182A1 - Laboratory tray

Info

Publication number: WO1991019182A1
Application number: PCT/US1990/006989
Authority: WO
Inventors: Eric A. Schneider; Ward C. Smith; Katharine A. Muirhead; Meryle J. Melnicoff
Original assignee: Zynaxis Technologies, Inc.
Priority date: 1990-05-30
Filing date: 1990-11-30
Publication date: 1991-12-12
Also published as: AU7328191A

Abstract

A laboratory tray for storing and using fluid materials and adapted particularly for loading the individual pipets of a gang pipet for use with a microtiter tray. The laboratory tray (41) has a plurality of wells (53) arranged so that one end (56) of each well is in a line with the corresponding ends of the other wells. The wells are spaced from one another corresponding to the spacing of the pipet tips (T) of a gang pipet (G). The aligned end of each well forms a reservoir which is compatible with an individual pipet tip or a pair of adjacent pipet tips. The wells have receiving portions (58) operable to receive fluid materials which diverge outwardly at different angles to accommodate the vials from which the fluid material is introduced into the wells. Cover devices (42) are provided for the wells (53) and access openings (64) are provided in registry with the reservoir ends (56) of the wells (53) to afford access to the wells by the gang pipet without removing the covers.

Description

LABORATORY TRAY

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to laboratory equipment and has particular application to laboratory trays which are especially useful in microtests for loading gang pipets used in microtesting procedures.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

In microtesting procedures, a few drops of test reagents are reacted with test specimens in the wells of a multi-well microtiter plate. The microtiter wells are arranged in parallel rows with uniform spacing between the rows and between the individual wells in each row. Gang pipets are available for depositing the reagents in the wells so that a single manipulation of the gang pipet enables the technician to deposit the proper quantity of reagent in a group of the wells in one row in a single operation. Conventionally, the pipet is loaded with reagent by depositing the reagent in a vessel which is coextensive with the pipet tips in the gang pipet and then manipulating the gang pipet to draw the reagent into each tip. This is satisfactory where all of the wells in the row are supplied with the same reagents. When it is desired to use reagents of different character in different wells along the row, the gang pipet cannot be used efficiently and the reagents are pipetted individually into each well. In using a single vessel to load the gang pipet, not only is there an increased possibility for contamination, but the vessel provides a large surface area for evaporation and entails a loss of reagent as it is emptied due to wetting of the large surface by the reagent.

Because of the close spacing of the pipet tips, it has not been thought practical to provide means for loading different reagents into adjacent tips in a gang pipet. The close position of the adjacent pipets' tips prevents individual pipet tips from being inserted into vials supplying the reagent.

Not only is the loading and discharging of microtiter wells individually a time-consuming and fatiguing operation, but the numerous operations involved and operator fatigue increase the likelihood of operator error in performing the tests. In any procedure, opportunity for operator error should be minimized. However, microtiter manipulation is a procedure used when the reagents are expensive, and/or when the test specimens are not available in large quantity. Because of this, any operator errors should be avoided.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

With the foregoing in mind, the present invention provides a laboratory tray which is particularly adapted for use in loading a gang pipet with different fluids or reagents from a single tray in each pipet tip.

The invention also provides a laboratory tray which may be packaged with the reagents needed for a given test and supplied to the laboratory in kit form. In one form of the kit, the reagents are deposited directly in the wells and in another form, the reagents are provided in separate containers which fit into the wells for packaging and storing.

The present invention provides a tray for loading pipets which facilitates emptying a reagent container into a large area of the well but which stores the emptied reagent in an area of the well which is of reduced area, minimizing evaporation loss in the intervals between use of the reagent. The tray enables reagents to be loaded into the tray in sufficient volume for performing multiple procedures , thereby reducing the need for repeated handling of the reagents .

More specifically, the present invention provides a tray having multiple wells for fluid material designed so that the wells have a reservoir portion for storing the material and from which the material may be loaded into the tips of a gang pipet.

The present invention provides an improved tray for loading a gang pipet having a reservoir portion which may accommodate one or two pipet tips at a time.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

All of the objects of the present invention are more fully set forth hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a laboratory tray with its transparent cover in place;

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the tray shown in Fig. 1 with the transparent cover removed;

Fig. 3 is a transverse sectional view taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2 showing reagent vials in broken lines positioned in the wells of the tray; Fig. 4 is a perspective view of a second embodiment of laboratory tray made in accordance with the present invention with the cover opened and access port plugs removed; Fig. 5 is a plan view of the tray shown in Fig. 6 with the cover fully opened;

Fig. 6 is a sectional view taken on the line 6-6 of Fig. 5 showing a gang pipet in broken lines in position to be loaded with fluid from the tray, the cover of the tray being closed over the wells and with the access port plugs removed;

Fig. 7 is a sectional view through the tray shown in Fig. 6 with the access port plugs in place to close the access ports; Fig. 8 is a perspective view of a eight-well tray embodying the present invention with a two-part cover, one part being opened;

Fig. 9 is a plan view of the tray as shown in Fig. 8; Fig. 10 is a sectional view taken on the line 10-10 of Fig. 9 with the cover elements broken away and showing a gang pipet in broken lines in position to be loaded from the tray;

Fig. 11 is a perspective view of a fourth embodiment of a laboratory tray embodying the present invention;

Fig. 12 is a plan view of the tray shown in Fig. 6 with additional cover elements opened; and

Fig. 13 is a sectional view taken along the irregular section line 13-13 of Fig. 12.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Figs. 1-3 illustrate a six-well laboratory tray 22 having a plurality of wells 23 designed to accommodate fluid material for use in the laboratory. In the present instance, the tray 22 includes six wells 23 and each well is identified with an indicia 24, in the present instance alpha-numeric characters A through F, respectively. In the present instance, each well is generally pear-shaped having a narrow end 26 defining a reservoir portion and an enlarged end 28 defining a receiver portion. As shown in Fig. 2, the reservoir portions 26 are aligned along a center line C. As shown in Fig. 3, the reservoir portion 26 of the well 23 is deeper than the receiver portion 28, so that when a fluid material is dumped into the well, it will flow by gravity to the bottom of the reservoir portion 26. To facilitate the flow, the depth of the well gradually increases from the receiver portion 28 to the reservoir portion 26 to provide a smooth transition allowing fluid material deposited in the receiver portion 28 to flow by gravity to the bottom of the reservoir portion 26. As shown in Fig. 2, the reservoir portions 26 of the several wells are clustered along the centerline C with a spacing which corresponds to the spacing of the tips of a gang pipet. The receiver portions of the wells extend outwardly from the cluster at divergent angles, in different directions so that the spacing between the receiver portions 28 is greater than the spacing between the reservoir portions 26 of adjacent wells. In the present instance, the receiver portion 28 has a flat bottom conforming generally to the outline of a vessel V which may be a vial of reagent to be dumped into the well. As shown, the vial V has a width greater than the width of the reservoir portion of the well, but less than the receiver portion so that the vial may be emptied into the receiver portion easily and with little danger of spillage. In the present instance, the well is designed to accept the vial so that the tray may be supplied as part of a test assay kit which includes the reagents to be used in a specific test procedure, each in its own vial. To facilitate the packaging of the kit, a cover element 32 is provided to telescopically engage the tray 22, as shown in Fig. 1, and to contain any vials which may be positioned in the wells in the tray.

The tray may be designed to be molded of a plastic material so as to be susceptible for disposal after a single use and, to this end, the tray is formed of a thin-wall plastic having an annular base or skirt 33 which is open at the bottom and is closed at the top by a web 34 extending across the top of the annular base portion 33 and serving as a bridge between adjacent wells 23 to maintain the wells in their properly spaced position. The surface of the web 34 merges into the side walls of the wells 23 to provide an economically-produced one-piece product. The configuration of the wells minimizes crevices and other corners which might entrap the fluids deposited in the wells. Preferably, the indicia 24 are formed by embossing the web material 34 as the tray is molded.

As discussed above, the tray is designed for use with a gang pipet, and is designed to facilitate loading the individual tips of the gang pipet with different reagents. The spacing of the reservoir portions 26 of the wells is compatible with the spacing of the pipet tips and the configuration of the bottoms of the reservoir portions 26 is designed to cooperate with the configuration of the ends of the pipet tips so that when the gang pipet is manipulated to insert the tips into the wells, operation of the gang pipet to load the tips with the fluids from the wells is effective to withdraw substantially all of the reagent which has been deposited in the reservoir portion, leaving little waste. This tray is especially adapted for use with reagents which may be particularly expensive such as monoclonal antibodies. The reagents may be in the form of slurries, coloidal suspensions, clear liquids or any other fluid material used in pipets in microtesting procedures. The tray of the present invention is particularly adapted to accommodate sufficient reagent to enable it to be used for multiple loadings of gang pipets. For example, an six-tip pipet may be loaded 16 times to perform a procedure using a 96-well microtiter plate. Each well of the tray of Fig. 1 may be initially filled with sufficient reagents to load a pipet tip up to 100 times, thereby enabling all of the reagents used in the procedure to be emptied into the wells at the start of the loading operation. The cover 32 is air-impermeable and may be used between loadings of the gang pipet to retard evaporation, as well as being used to provide the initial packaging of the tray with the vials to provide a test assay kit as described above. A second embodiment of a reagent tray is shown in Figs. 4-7 inclusive. In this case, the tray is designed for a test procedure in which six pipet tips of a gang pipet are loaded with three reagents, the tips being arranged in pairs with the same reagent being loaded in the tips of each pair. As shown, the tray 41 is formed with a lid 42 hinged to the tray along one side 45. The body of the tray has a depending skirt 43 around three sides and a web 44 bridging across the top of the skirt 43. Along the rear edge of the web 44 a hinge 45 connects the lid 42 for swinging movement over the web 44. The web 44 supports and connects three wells 53. Each well has a deep reservoir portion 56 and a receiver portion of shallower depth at 58.

The width of the wells 53 is sufficient to accommodate a pair of pipet tips T as shown in broken lines in Fig. 6, the tips being part of a gang pipet G. The spacing between the reservoir portions 56 of adjacent wells corresponds to the spacing between the tips T of the gang pipet G. However, the width of the well is compatible with the width of a pair of pipet tips T. As shown in Fig. 5, the receiver portions 58 of the wells diverge outwardly from the centerline C along which the reservoir portions 56 are disposed. The divergence of the receiver portions 58 of the wells 53 facilitates the loading of the wells with the proper reagents with less danger of cross-contamination. As with the previous embodiment, the wells 53 gradually increase in depth from the receiver portion 58 into the reservoir portion 56 to enable the reagents to flow by gravity into the bottom of the reservoir portion.

In the present instance, the material of the tray is opaque so that it is particularly suited for light sensitive materials, and means is provided to provide a cover for each well while affording access to the reservoir portion. To this end, the lid 42 has formed on its undersurface cap elements 63 which comprise a downwardly-projecting rib confirming in outline to the outline of the tops of the wells 53. The ribs 63 provide a tight seal around the top of the well by telescopically engaging in the well when the cover is closed on top of the well as shown in Fig. 7. To enable access to the reservoir portion 56 of the well without removing the cover, the cover portion is provided with access ports 64 adapted to overlie the reservoir portion 56 of the wells within the rib 63 forming the cap for each well. The access port 64 is defined between the end of the cap rib 63 and a cross rib 65 providing a channel in registry with the reservoir portion 56. The channel accommodates a pair of pipet tips T without removing the lid from engagement with the wells so that the cover 42 may be in place over the wells 53 and access is provided to the reservoir portions through the access port 64. The depth of the channel below the access port 64 is sufficient to restrict the exposure of the material in the reservoir portion of the well to ambient light so as to avoid deterioration of the material by exposure to light. A tight fit of the caps 63 within the wells 53 also reduces the opportunity for evaportion of the reagent from the well.

To further restrict the access of light or air to the reagent in the well, plug means is provided for the access ports 64. In the present instance, as shown in Fig. 4, the plug means comprises a handle strip 66 having a series of projecting plug elements 67 which are designed to telescopically fit into the channel of the access port 64 and seal the same against exposure to light and evaporation. It has been found convenient to couple the plugs 67 with the handle strips 66 to facilitate removal of the plugs when it is desired to provide access to the reservoirs for the gang pipet G.

This embodiment of the tray is particularly suited for use in a test kit wherein the reagents needed for a test procedure may be loaded into the wells 53 and the cover then closed to contain the reagents for shipping, handling and storage, the plugs 67 being in place. When it is desired to initiate the test procedures, the plugs may be readily removed to afford access to the reservoir portions 56 by the tips T of the gang pipet G (see Fig. 6).

An eight-well tray is shown in Figs. 8-10. As shown in these figures, a tray 71 provides a web platform 74 supported by a pair of skirts 73 extending downwardly along the length of the sides of the platform 74. At each of its opposite ends, a lid 72 is hinged to the platform 74 to cover half of the wells in the tray. In the present instance, each lid is hinged to the platform by a hinge 75 extending across the end of the platform.

Eight wells 83 are formed in the platform 74, each well being pear-shaped in outline having an enlarged receiver portion 88 and a narrow reservoir portion 86. The reservoir portions 86 are clustered along the centerline C" , and the receiver portions diverge outwardly from the cluster along the centerline. In the present instance, the receiver portions 88 of the end wells 83 extend outwardly along the centerline C" , and alternate wells 83 extend to one side of the centerline and the intermediate wells extend to the other side of the centerline. As shown in Fig. 10, each of the wells 83 has a depth gradually increasing from the receiver portion 88 to the reservoir portion 86 so as to faciliate the gravity flow of fluid material which may be deposited in the receiver portion 88 so that it may flow into the bottom of the reservoir portion 86. As shown, the reservoir portions 86 are clustered along the centerline with a spacing corresponding to the spacing of the pipet tips T of the gang pipet G shown in broken lines in Fig. 10. As with the previously described embodiment, each well is provided with an individual cap consisting of a bead 84 projecting downwardly from the surface of the lid 22 to telescopically seal within the top of each reservoir 83. Thus, when the lid 72 is pivoted from its open position to the closed position, the bead 84 sealingly engages the top of the well 83 to enclose the fluid material in the well against evaportion, and is opaque against exposure to light. The sealing engagement also prevents migration of the fluid from the well into adjacent wells and reduces the possibility of cross-contamination.

An eight-well tray having individual covers for each well is shown in Figs. 11-13. In this embodiment of the invention, the tray 91 has a web platform 94 supporting a plurality of individual receptacles 93. The receptacles 93 in the present instance are wells having upstanding lips 95 projecting above the web surface 94 which interconnects the wells. The upwardly-projecting lips 95 of the wells 93 form flanges surrounding the upper edge of the well and serve to reduce the opportunity for migration of the fluid material in the wells 93 across the bridging surfaces of the platform 94 to the adjoining well, and this will prevent inadvertent cross-contamination. As in the previous embodiments, each well comprises a receiver portion 98 and a reservoir portion 96, the reservoir portions being clustered along a centerline C'", and are compatible with the tips T of a gang pipet G, as shown in Fig. 13. In the present instance, each well gradually increases in depth from the receiver portion 98 toward the reservoir portion 96 to facilitate gravitation of the fluid material in the well into the bottom of the reservoir portion where it may be extracted by the tip T of the gang pipet G.

The cover elements 102 are separate from one another and are each hinged to the tray 91 by a hinge element 105. Each cover element has a rib 104 cooperable with the upstanding lip 95 of its associated well to seal the well against escape of the fluid material from the well or ingress of light or contaminants into the well. This embodiment of the invention provides a tray which may be used with an eight-tip gang pipet. The divergent receiver portions 98 of the wells 93 facilitate loading the wells with reagents and the sealing of each well by its individual lid 102 enables use of the tray to load an individual pipet with a reagent from only one of the wells. The seal for each well provided by the rib 104 enables the tray to store reagents for a prolonged period without loss by evaporation and without substantial danger of contamination.

As described, the tray of the present invention may take various forms. For example, the indicia shown in the embodiment of Figs. 1-3 may be incorporated in any one of the illustrated trays. It may label each well, as shown, or need only label a single well to facilitate registry of the proper pipet tips with the desired wells. Furthermore, while the indicia is represented in Fig. 2 as alphabetic characters, numeric or even pictorial indicia may be employed. Furthermore, the indicia need not be a permanent part of the tray, but may consist of decals or labels applied to the tray when loading it. The embodiment of Figs. 11-13 is particularly suited for the use of labels since each individual cap may be labeled separately on its flat exposed surface.

It is not intended to limit the invention to the specific forms illustrated, but changes and modifications may be made within the scope of the invention as set forth in the following claims.

Claims

1. Laboratory apparatus for storing and using fluid material, comprising a tray having multiple wells for the fluid material disposed in a sequence along a centerline, each well having a reservoir portion of a given depth centered in said centerline, and having a receiver portion of lesser depth than said given depth, said reservoir portions being clustered on said centerline and said receiver portions extending outward from said clustered reservoir portions, each of said reservoir portions having a given width along said centerline, and said receiver portions being spaced at a greater width than said reservoir portions to facilitate the depositing of fluid material into the well, each well increasing in depth from said receiver portion into said reservoir portion to cause the fluid material deposited in said receiver portion to flow into said reservoir portion.

2. Apparatus according to claim 1 comprising at least three wells, and wherein said centerline is a straight line along a medial portion of said tray, the receiver portions of said wells in said sequence extending outwardly from said centerline in different directions.

3. Apparatus according to claim 2 for loading fluid materials into a gang pipet having a sequence of pipet tips uniformly spaced along a straight line, the fluid materials being supplied in containers having a width greater than the spacing between adjacent tips in the sequence, said reservoir portions having a spacing along said centerline equal to the spacing between the pipet tips in said gang pipet, and said receiver portions having a width corresponding to the width of the containers.

4. Apparatus according to claim 3 wherein the bottom of each reservoir portion is compatible with a single pipet tip of said gang pipet.

5. Apparatus according to claim 2 wherein the receiver portions of the wells at the opposite ends of said sequence extend outwardly from the reservoir portions of said wells in respectively opposite directions along the centerline.

6. Apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said sequence comprises at least four wells disposed along a centerline extending along a medial portion of said tray, alternate wells in the sequence having their receiver portions extending outwardly at one side of said medial portion, and the intermediate wells in the sequence having their receiver portions extending outwardly at the opposite side of said medial portion.

7. Apparatus according to claim 1 including cover means including a sealing element conforming to and sealingly engaging the periphery of each well, said cover means cooperating with said well to retard evaporation of the material in the well.

8. Apparatus according to claim 7 wherein said cover means has an access port in registry with the reservoir portion of each well to afford entry of a pipet tip into the reservoir portion without disturbing the sealing element for the well.

9. Apparatus according to claim 8 wherein the cover means includes a removable plug for closing each of said access ports.

10. Apparatus according to claim 9 wherein said access ports of the sequence of wells are aligned along said centerline, and including handle means connected to a plurality of said plugs to enable the access ports closed by said plugs to be opened together.

11. Apparatus according to claim 7 including hinge means connecting the cover means to the tray adjacent the outer periphery of the tray to allow pivotal movement of the cover means to disengage the sealing element from its associated well for permitting deposit of fluid material into said receiver portion.

12. Apparatus according to claim 7 wherein said cover means is opaque and air-impermeable.

13. Apparatus according to claim 1 including cover means conforming to the outline of the tray, and sealingly engaged with said tray around the entire periphery thereof.

14. Apparatus according to claim 13 wherein said cover means is opaque and air-impermeable.

15. Apparatus according to claim 1 including indicia means identifying at least one of the multiple wells in said sequence.

16. Apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said tray includes a web spanning between and interconnecting said wells, each well having a flange surrounding the well to provide barriers against inadvertent displacement of fluid out of the well, across said web, and into an adjacent well.

17. Apparatus according to claim 14 including a separate cover for each well, said cover having a sealing rib cooperable with the flange of its associated well to seal said well.

18. Apparatus according to claim 17 wherein each cover is opaque and air-impermeable.

19. A test assay kit for use in a laboratory with a gang pipet having a sequence of pipet tips uniformly spaced along a straight line, comprising a tray having multiple wells disposed in a sequence along a straight centerline, each well having a reservoir portion of a given depth centered in said centerline, and having a receiver portion of lesser depth than said given depth extending outward from said reservoir portion, each of said reservoir portions having a given width wider than the pipet tip along said centerline, said reservoir portions having a spacing along said centerline compatible with the spacing of adjacent pipet tips in said gang pipet, said receiver portions being of greater width than the spacing of adjacent pipet tips, each well gradually increasing in depth from said receiver portion into said reservoir portion, whereby assay reagent deposited in said receiver portion is free to flow into said reservoir portion, and an assay reagent in each well capable of being drawn into a pipet tip when said gang pipet is positioned with its tips in the reservoir portions of said wells.

20. A test assay kit according to claim 19 wherein each reservoir portion has a width to receive two adjacent pipet tips of said gang pipet.

21. A test assay kit according to claim 19 including a separate container for the test reagent in each well, the container having a given outline, the receiver portion of each well conforming to said given outline to allow said container to be positioned in said well.

22. A test assay kit according to claim 19 including cover means for said wells having access means affording insertion of the pipet tips into said reservoir portions.

23. A test assay kit according to claim 22 wherein said assay reagent is contained in said well by said cover means and said cover means is opaque and air-impermeable.

24. A test assay kit according to claim 19 including a separate container for the reagent positioned in each well.

25. Apparatus for loading fluids into a gang pipet having a sequence of pipet tips uniformly spaced along a straight line, a plurality of fluid containers, each container having a width greater than the spacing between adjacent tips in the sequence, a tray having multiple wells disposed in a sequence along a centerline, each well having a reservoir portion of a given depth centered in said centerline, and having a receiver portion of lesser depth than said given depth extending transversely outward from said reservoir portion, each of said reservoir portions having a given width wider than the pipet tip along said centerline, said reservoir portions having a spacing along said centerline compatible with the spacing of the pipet tips in said gang pipet, said receiver portions being of greater width than said reservoir portions and conforming to the outline of said fluid containers to permit one of said containers to be engaged in each receiver portion, each well gradually increasing in depth from said receiver portion into said reservoir portion, whereby fluid deposited in said receiver portion is free to flow into said reservoir portion.

26. Apparatus according to claim 25 including fluids within said containers whereby said gang pipet may be loaded by dumping the fluids in said containers into the receiver portions of the associated wells, and allowing the fluid to flow into said reservoir portions of the wells for operative engagement by the pipet tips.

27. Apparatus according to claim 26 wherein the deepest part of the reservoir portion of each well is compatible with at least one of the sequence of pipet tips, whereby the reservoirs may be substantially emptied by the pipet tips.

28. Apparatus according to claim 25 including opaque and air-impermeable cover means cooperable with said wells.