Method and system for sample preparation

Abstract

A method for preparing a sample by utilizing a shearing force in the presence of a size stabilizer to break apart the sample to obtain nucleic acid molecules in a usable size range. Once nucleic acid molecules are obtained, magnetic nanoparticles are used to concentrate and clean the nucleic acid molecules for further testing.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A disposable cartridge for preparing an assay fluid, the disposable cartridge comprising:
 a cartridge body comprising,
 a cylindrical surface, and 
 a hollow pipe extending from the cylindrical surface; and 
   a rotor configured to rotatabily mount to the cartridge body, wherein the rotor comprises,
 a surface configured to slideably engage the cylindrical surface of the cartridge body, 
 a plurality of chambers each configured to facilitate at least one operation on the assay fluid, and 
 a plurality of ports positioned along the surface of the rotor and in fluid communication with at least one of the plurality of chambers; 
   wherein the rotor is rotationally indexed about an axis parallel to the cylindrical surface such that the plurality of ports are selectively aligned with the hollow pipe the cartridge body.   
     
     
         2 . The disposable cartridge of  claim 1 , wherein the hollow tube is configured to at least partially receive a plunger, wherein the plunger is configured move relative to the hollow pipe to effect a flow of assay fluids from one of the plurality of chambers to another of the plurality of chambers to perform the at least one operation on the assay fluid. 
     
     
         3 . The disposable cartridge of  claim 1 , wherein the cylindrical surface of the cartridge body includes at least one surface to close at least one of the plurality of moveable ports. 
     
     
         4 . The disposable cartridge of  claim 2 , wherein the rotor further comprises a reaction chamber in fluid communication with one of the plurality of ports. 
     
     
         5 . The disposable cartridge of  claim 4 , wherein the at least one of the plurality of ports is indexed to one of a plurality of radial positions each corresponding to alignment with the hollow pipe of the cartridge body and with a variety of other chambers of the rotor so that the assay fluid can be: (i) drawn into the hollow pipe, (ii) injected into one of the other of the plurality of chambers containing at least one processing compound, and (iii) injected into the reaction chamber for evaluating a test result associated with the assay fluid. 
     
     
         6 . The disposable cartridge of  claim 2 , wherein the at least one of the plurality of ports is indexed: (i) to a first radial position corresponding to alignment with the hollow pipe of the cartridge body, (ii) to another radial position corresponding to a reaction chamber of the cartridge body. 
     
     
         7 . The disposable cartridge of  claim 1 , wherein the assay fluid travels through at least one channel formed along a bottom panel of the rotor to provide a passageway for fluid flow from one of the plurality of chambers to another of the plurality of chambers. 
     
     
         8 . The disposable cartridge of  claim 4 , wherein the assay fluid travels through channels formed along a bottom panel of the rotor to provide a passageway for fluid flow from one of the plurality of chambers to the reaction chamber. 
     
     
         9 . The disposable cartridge of  claim 8 , further comprising a signal processor disposed in the reaction chamber and configured to detect a presence of a nucleic acid sequence. 
     
     
         10 . The disposable cartridge of  claim 2 , wherein at least one of a plurality of ports is positioned at a predetermined height from a bottom panel of the rotor in order to inhibit a backflow of assay fluid into one of the plurality of chambers. 
     
     
         11 . The disposable cartridge of  claim 2 , further comprising a washing channel positioned along a bottom panel of the rotor, wherein the washing channel comprises a first portion defining a first width dimension and a second portion defining a second width dimension which is greater than the first width, and wherein the second portion of the washing channel is configured to concentrate magnetic nanoparticles. 
     
     
         12 . The disposable cartridge of  claim 1 , wherein one of the rotor and the cartridge body includes an identifying marker from the group of: a barcode label and a Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tag. 
     
     
         13 . The disposable cartridge of  claim 1 , further comprising a chip including a biological probe. 
     
     
         14 . The disposable cartridge of  claim 1 , wherein the plurality of chambers of the rotor have at least one open end defining an upper rim, and further comprising a thin film disposed over, and heat sealed to, the upper rim. 
     
     
         15 . A method for preparing an assay fluid, including the steps of:
 configuring a cartridge body with,
 a cylindrical surface, and 
 a hollow pipe; 
   configuring a rotor for rotatabily mounting to the cartridge body and including,
 a surface for slideably engaging the cylindrical surface of the cartridge body along a mating interface, 
 a plurality of chambers, and 
 a plurality of ports positioned along the surface of the rotor and in fluid communications with the plurality of chambers; 
   rotationally indexing the rotor about an axis parallel to the cylindrical surface of the cartridge body; and   moving assay fluid from the hollow pipe to one or more of the ports, the assay fluid being moved between the plurality of chambers of the rotor to a reaction chamber where properties of the assay fluid are evaluated.   
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 15 , wherein a printed circuit board within the reaction chamber detects for a presence of a nucleic acid sequence. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 15 , further comprising,
 configuring the rotor with a washing channel positioned along a bottom panel of the rotor such that the washing channel includes a first portion defining a first width dimension and a second portion defining a second width dimension which is greater than the first width dimension, and   concentrating magnetic nanoparticles in the washing channel to prepare the assay fluid.   
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 15 , further comprising configuring the rotor with an identifying marker. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 18 , wherein the identifying marker is a barcode label. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 18 , wherein the identifying marker is a Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tag.