Methods for purifying nucleic acids and devices thereof

Abstract

A nucleic acid purification device includes a housing and an adapter operatively attached to the housing. The adapter is configured to receive at least one well plate which includes a plurality of wells for receiving contents including at least a sample and a plurality of paramagnetic particles. The device also includes a motor disposed within the housing and configured to selectively move at least the adapter to thereby disrupt or shake the contents of the plurality of wells when the at least one well plate is received by the adapter. The device further includes at least one electromagnetic feature configured to selectively receive an electrical signal and thereby magnetize at least a portion of the plurality of paramagnetic particles when the plurality of paramagnetic particles are received by the plurality of wells and the at least one well plate is received by the adapter.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A nucleic acid purification device, comprising:
 a housing and an adapter operatively attached to the housing, the adapter configured to receive at least one well plate, the at least one well plate comprising a plurality of wells for receiving contents including at least a sample and a plurality of paramagnetic particles;   a motor disposed within the housing and configured to selectively move at least the adapter to thereby disrupt or shake the contents of the plurality of wells when the at least one well plate is received by the adapter; and   at least one electromagnetic feature configured to selectively receive an electrical signal and thereby magnetize at least a portion of the plurality of paramagnetic particles when the plurality of paramagnetic particles are received by the plurality of wells and the at least one well plate is received by the adapter.   
     
     
         2 . The device of  claim 1  wherein the adapter is further configured to receive the at least one well plate securely and at a top portion of the adapter. 
     
     
         3 . The device of  claim 1  wherein the at least one electromagnetic feature is disposed between a top portion of the adapter and the at least one well plate or the at least one electromagnetic feature is integrated with the adapter. 
     
     
         4 . The device of  claim 1  wherein the at least one electromagnetic feature comprises a plurality of protrusions extending away from a top portion of the adapter or a plurality of depressions and is positioned between at least a portion of the plurality of wells. 
     
     
         5 . The device of  claim 1  wherein the at least one electromagnetic feature comprises a substantially planar top surface configured to be disposed adjacent to a bottom portion of the at least one well plate. 
     
     
         6 . The device of  claim 5  wherein the at least one electromagnetic feature is configured to produce a magnetic field in a direction substantially perpendicular to the bottom portion of the at least one well plate when the electromagnetic feature receives the electrical signal. 
     
     
         7 . The device of  claim 1  further comprising a switch electrically connected to an electrical signal source, the switch configured to selectively supply the electrical signal to the at least one electromagnetic feature when engaged by a user or a controller programmed by the user to supply the electrical signal to the at least one electromagnetic feature at one or more selected times. 
     
     
         8 . The device of  claim 1  wherein the electromagnetic feature comprises a ferromagnetic material at least partially surrounded by an electrically conductive material. 
     
     
         9 . The device of  claim 1  wherein the at least one electromagnetic feature is configured to be disposed between the adapter and the at least one well plate, the adapter comprises at least one diamagnetic material, and the at least one electromagnetic feature is configured to produce a magnetic field in a direction substantially perpendicular to a top surface of the adapter when the electromagnetic feature receives the electrical signal. 
     
     
         10 . An adapter apparatus for facilitating nucleic acid purification, the adapter configured to mount to a well plate shaker device and comprising:
 a first attachment device for receiving at least one well plate, the at least one well plate comprising a plurality of wells for receiving contents including at least a sample and a plurality of paramagnetic particles; and   at least one electromagnetic feature configured to selectively receive an electrical signal and thereby magnetize at least a portion of the plurality of paramagnetic particles when the plurality of paramagnetic particles are received by the plurality of wells and the at least one well plate is received by the first attachment device.   
     
     
         11 . The apparatus of  claim 10  further comprising a top portion and the at least one electromagnetic feature is disposed proximate the top portion and between the top portion and the at least one well plate. 
     
     
         12 . The apparatus of  claim 10  wherein the at least one electromagnetic feature comprises a plurality of protrusions extending away from a top portion of the adapter and between at least a portion of the plurality of wells. 
     
     
         13 . The apparatus of  claim 10  wherein the at least one electromagnetic feature comprises a substantially planar top surface configured to be disposed adjacent to a bottom portion of the at least one well plate. 
     
     
         14 . The apparatus of  claim 13  wherein the at least one electromagnetic feature is configured to produce a magnetic field in a direction substantially perpendicular to the bottom portion of the at least one well plate when the electromagnetic feature receives the electrical signal. 
     
     
         15 . The apparatus of  claim 10  wherein the at least one electromagnetic feature further comprises an electrical interface coupled to a switch of the well plate shaker device, the switch electrically connected to an electrical signal source and configured to operatively supply the electrical signal to the at least one electromagnetic feature. 
     
     
         16 . A method for purifying nucleic acids, the method comprising:
 introducing a sample comprising a plurality of nucleic acids and a plurality of paramagnetic particles to one or more of a plurality of wells of at least one well plate, wherein the at least one well plate is attached to an adapter coupled to a well plate shaker device;   providing an electrical signal to at least one electromagnetic feature of the adapter to thereby magnetize at least a portion of the plurality of paramagnetic particles and bind the plurality of paramagnetic particles to the plurality of nucleic acids;   introducing one or more buffers to the one or more of the plurality of wells of the at least one well plate; and   extracting at least a portion of the plurality of nucleic acids to produce a purified nucleic acid composition.   
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 16  further comprising shaking the adapter with the well plate shaker device to thereby mix the plurality of nucleic acids and the plurality of paramagnetic particles when the plurality of nucleic acids are unbound from and bound to the plurality of paramagnetic particles. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 17  wherein the steps are performed without removing the well plate from the adapter or the well plate shaker device and the steps are repeated for a plurality of well plates to thereby provide increased throughput 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 16  further comprising introducing at least one wash buffer or at least one elution buffer subsequent to providing the electrical signal to the at least one electromagnetic feature. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 16  further comprising, prior to providing the electrical signal to the at least one electromagnetic feature, the steps of:
 coupling the adapter to the well plate shaker device at an electrical interface; and 
 securely attaching the at least one well plate to the adapter.