Methods for providing and delivering an environmentally sealed chip

Abstract

The invention provides methods relating methods for environmentally sealing, protecting, and providing analysis chips for processing and analysis. The analysis chips are bonded directly or indirectly to chip carriers which are held within the chambers of an environmental packaging strip. The chambers are sealed with a sealing film such that the chip carriers are extracted using a piercing tool and an extraction tool.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method of providing an analysis chip comprising:
 a) providing a strip having a plurality of sealed chambers, each chamber having a bottom, a top, and sidewalls, the top of each chamber sealed with a sealing film; wherein a chip carrier comprising an analysis chip is disposed within each chamber;   b) piercing the sealing layer of at least one of the chambers with a piercing tool; and   c) extracting the chip carrier from the chamber with an extraction tool.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1  further comprising transporting the extracted chip carrier to a holder which holds the chip as reagents are added to the chip. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the piercing tool comprises one or more ridges, each ridge configured to make a cut in the sealing film. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the tool has four ridges. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the piercing tool extends through the sealing film and pushes down the film to create an opening through which the chip carrier is extracted. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 5  wherein the piercing tool has four ridges such that when the piercing tool extends through the film, four cuts are made to produce four flaps which are pushed down into the chamber. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the top of each chamber is sealed with a sealing film, and the chip carriers are disposed in the bottom portion of each chamber whereby the extraction tool extends through the top of the chamber. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 7  wherein the chip carriers are disposed such that the top of each chip carrier is below the level of the sealing film by a distance that is at least one half of a cross-sectional dimension of the chamber. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 7  wherein the chambers have a square or rectangular cross-sectional profile, and the chip carriers are disposed such that the top of each chip carrier is below the level of the sealing film by a distance that is at least one half of the length of a side of the square or rectangular profile. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the piercing tool and the extraction tool are incorporated into a single piercing/extraction tool. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 10  wherein the piercing portion of the piercing tool is inside the single piercing/extraction tool, and wherein the piercing tool extends to pierce the film, and subsequently retracts within the single tool to allow the extraction tool to engage with the chip carrier. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 7  wherein the chip carrier is attached to the strip; and the extraction tool grips the chip carrier and displaces the chip carrier to detach the chip carrier from the strip. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 12  wherein the chip carrier is attached to the chip through break-away tabs. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 13  wherein the break-away tabs are molded tabs. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 12  wherein the chip carrier is displaced down by the extraction tool to detach the chip carrier. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the strip is a linear strip having from 2 to 12 chambers. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the sealing film comprises a foil, a polymer, or a combination thereof. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 2  wherein the process is carried out on an automated robot. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the analysis chip is part of a chip assembly which is bonded to the to the chip carrier. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 19  wherein the chip carrier has a top and a base and the chip assembly is bonded to the base of the chip carrier whereby the analysis chip extends below the chip carrier. 
     
     
         21 . The method of  claim 20  wherein after the chip carrier is extracted, it is placed in a processing station where reagents are added, and is subsequently moved to an analysis station wherein an edges of the analysis chip is used to orient the analysis chip in the analysis station.