Calibration of a functional biomarker instrument

Abstract

Methods of calibration are provided. A method comprises introducing a material with cell-like properties and a known mass into a sensor on a measurement instrument to generate a calibration reading and adjusting an output module of the measurement instrument until the measurement instrument calibrates to the known mass for the material.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method of calibration comprising:
 introducing a material with cell-like properties and a known mass into a sensor on a measurement instrument to generate a calibration reading; and   adjusting an output module of the measurement instrument until the measurement instrument calibrates to the known mass for the material.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the cell-like properties of the material comprise a deformability or elasticity of the material. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the material comprises a hydrogel. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the material comprises a cell or an altered cell. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 4 , wherein the altered cell comprises a cell altered through chemical, biochemical, or mechanical means. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the material comprises one selected from the group consisting of a lipid mass, a polymer particle, a vesicle, and an emulsified particle. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising performing the running and adjusting step for each of a plurality of different instruments to thereby make mass readings across the different instruments comparable. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein a growth-reference standard is used for calibration instead of a mass-reference standard. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein the growth-reference standard comprises a hydrogel that accumulates liquid media and swells at a known rate once introduced into the liquid media within a channel on the measurement instrument. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein the growth-reference standard comprises a hydrogel that has an undetectable rate of mass change throughout a duration of measurement in the measurement instrument. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the measurement device comprises a suspended microchannel resonator (SMR). 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the measurement device comprises an SMR instrument comprising an array of SMRs with a fluidic channel passing therethrough. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein the channel passes through the array of SMRs, in which each successive pair of SMRs is separated by a portion of the channel that provides a delay. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein a combination of materials with cell-like properties is used to define parameters to calibrate parts of the measurement system. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein parts of the measurement system comprise sensors. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising introducing a same material to each of a plurality of different sensors of a same measurement instrument, thereby producing comparable mass readings across different sensors of the same measurement instrument. 
     
     
         17 . A method of relative calibration comprising:
 introducing a material with cell-like properties and an unchanging mass into a measurement instrument with multiple sensors to generate a calibration reading; and   adjusting an output module of the measurement instrument until measurements of individual sensors of the measurement instrument for the material calibrates to a same measurement.   
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 17 , wherein a same material is successively transported to all sensors of the measurement instrument using microfluidic channels. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 17 , wherein a combination of materials with cell-like properties is used to define parameters to calibrate parts of the measurement instrument. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 17 , wherein the material with cell-like properties is a hydrogel or combination of hydrogels. 
     
     
         21 . The method of  claim 17 , wherein the measurement instrument comprises a suspended microchannel resonator (SMR). 
     
     
         22 . The method of  claim 17 , wherein the cell-like properties of the material comprise a deformability or elasticity of the material. 
     
     
         23 . The method of  claim 17 , wherein the material comprises a cell or an altered cell. 
     
     
         24 . The method of  claim 23 , wherein the altered cell comprises a cell altered through chemical, biochemical, or mechanical means. 
     
     
         25 . The method of  claim 17 , wherein the material comprises one selected from the group consisting of a lipid mass, a polymer particle, a vesicle, and an emulsified particle. 
     
     
         26 . The method of  claim 17 , further comprising performing the running and adjusting step for each of a plurality of different instruments to thereby make mass readings across the different instruments comparable. 
     
     
         27 . The method of  claim 17 , wherein a growth-reference standard is used for calibration instead of a mass-reference standard. 
     
     
         28 . The method of  claim 27 , wherein the growth-reference standard comprises a hydrogel that accumulates liquid media and swells at a known rate once introduced into the liquid media within a channel on the measurement instrument. 
     
     
         29 . The method of  claim 27 , wherein the growth-reference standard comprises a hydrogel that has an undetectable rate of mass change throughout a duration of measurement in the measurement instrument. 
     
     
         30 . The method of  claim 17 , wherein the measurement device comprises an SMR instrument comprising an array of SMRs with a fluidic channel passing therethrough. 
     
     
         31 . The method of  claim 30 , wherein the channel passes through the array of SMRs, in which each successive pair of SMRs is separated by a portion of the channel that provides a delay. 
     
     
         32 . The method of  claim 31 , wherein parts of the measurement system comprise sensors. 
     
     
         33 . The method of  claim 17 , further comprising introducing a same material to each of a plurality of different sensors of a same measurement instrument, thereby producing comparable mass readings across different sensors of the same measurement instrument.