Absorbance Colorimetric Device Nonwetting Plate
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional colorimetric assays, such as the Bradford assay, face challenges in miniaturization due to slow reaction times and protein denaturation in macroscale mixing, requiring complex fabrication and control schemes for efficient micromixing in high-throughput applications.
Innovation Solution
A novel absorbance-based colorimetric device system utilizing a nonwetting sample plate with buoyancy-driven convection for rapid mixing and evaporation suppression, allowing real-time absorbance measurements through droplets on a hydrophobic substrate, which simplifies the mixing process and reduces reaction time without complex fabrication.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If macroscale mixing is used in conventional colorimetric assays, then the reaction can be completed, but the measurement time is long (5 min or more) and protein denaturation occurs
Solution Approach 1:
The invention transitions from macroscale mixing to microscale droplet-based mixing by moving the reaction to a different spatial dimension (microliter scale droplets on a plate surface). This dimensional change enables rapid mixing through capillary forces and surface effects while maintaining protein integrity, resolving the contradiction between measurement speed and protein stability
Solution Approach 2:
The invention changes the physical parameters of the reaction system by using small-volume droplets (nanoliter to microliter scale) instead of macroscale volumes. This parameter change in volume and surface-to-volume ratio enables rapid heat and mass transfer, achieving fast mixing and reaction completion within seconds to minutes while preserving protein structure
2Productivity
If miniaturized wells with high density are fabricated, then high-throughput screening is achieved, but complex machining is required to create precise wells
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts the reaction from traditional enclosed microtiter plate wells and relocates it to open droplet structures on a plate surface. This extraction eliminates the need for complex well fabrication while maintaining high-density throughput, as droplets can be deposited directly onto pre-fabricated plates without requiring precise machining of individual wells
Solution Approach 2:
The invention uses droplet copies of the reaction mixture deposited on a plate surface instead of requiring physical well structures. Each droplet acts as a independent reaction chamber, enabling high-throughput screening through simple droplet deposition patterns rather than complex well fabrication
3Ease of operation
If active micromixing approaches (ultrasonication, vibration, magnetohydrodynamic stirrers) are used, then mixing is improved, but complex control schemes and additional manufacturing requirements are introduced
Solution Approach 1:
The invention enables self-mixing of droplets through inherent capillary forces, surface tension effects, and evaporation-driven convection that automatically occur in small-volume droplets on a plate surface. This self-service mixing mechanism eliminates the need for external ultrasonication, vibration, or magnetohydrodynamic stirrers, achieving efficient mixing without complex control schemes or additional manufacturing requirements
Solution Approach 2:
The invention replaces mechanical mixing systems (vortexers, stirrers, ultrasonicators) with passive physical-chemical mechanisms inherent to small-volume droplets, including capillary flow, surface tension-driven convection, and evaporation-induced mixing. This substitution eliminates complex mechanical control while achieving superior mixing efficiency
4Ease of operation
If multilaminar mixing with intricate channel patterns is used, then chaotic flow for mixing is achieved, but longer flow lengths and complex fabrication are required
Solution Approach 1:
The invention moves the mixing process from three-dimensional channel flow to two-dimensional droplet surface mixing, eliminating the need for long serpentine channels. Droplets achieve rapid mixing through surface-based convection and capillary flows that occur naturally in the planar geometry, reducing the required mixing path length from centimeters to sub-millimeter scales
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This approach enables rapid and efficient protein concentration measurement with enhanced mixing rates and reduced evaporation, providing a viable alternative to microtiter plates for high-throughput colorimetric analysis with improved sensitivity and reduced complexity.
Implementation Method 1
nonwetting sample plate with buoyancy-driven convection for rapid mixing and evaporation suppression
Implementation Method 2
first coated surface is configured to allow a sample droplet loaded onto the first coated surface to be substantially non-wetting
Implementation Method 3
the sample plate has sufficient transparency and therefore is capable to pass some or all light received from the light source after the light is passed through the sample droplet
Implementation Method 4
a light-to-electrical signal-converting device, wherein the light-to-electrical signal-converting device is placed adjacent to the second surface of the sample place
Data Source
AI summary
The present disclosure relates to a novel absorbance-based colorimetric device system, and to methods of using the novel absorbance-based colorimetric device system.